Part 1 of this set review can be found here: White
Preamble:As with yesterday’s White cards, today we are going to use the following scale for Ravnica’s Blue additions:
Constructed Unplayable
This card should not be played in Constructed under any normal circumstances and will never generally be found in a competitive Constructed deck. Example: Sea Snidd
Playable – Role Player
This card is either unspectacular and competing with cards that do the same thing more efficiently or useful in only a limited number of decks. For whatever reason (redundancy, lack of better alternatives), the card is good enough to fill a role in a reasonable Constructed deck. Example: Discombobulate
Playable – Staple
This card is played in whatever decks and strategies where it would be appropriate, almost without question. When the card is absent, that is when we start asking questions. Example: Counterspell
Playable – Flagship
This card has a powerful or unique effect, so much so that we build decks around IT rather than fitting it into decks. Quite often the presence of this card allows for new archetypes to be explored. In some cases, those archetypes are not very good (but without their flagships, we would never even ask the question). Example: Time Spiral
I want to stress something before I continue, which is that I personally think of cards as Constructed Playable or not, and don’t tier cards as *-*****/***** as some players do. For example, I really like the card Werebear. I’ve qualified with cards like Flesh Reaver in Constructed deck. When working on new formats, my friend Josh Ravitz says things like “To you a good card is an undercosted 4/4,” (to which my mind creates an imaginary smiley face) “but to me, a good card is…” “Mind’s Desire?” “Exactly.”
So to make a long story short, these set reviews are generally first blush articles, and the main delineation is going to be whether or not a card is something that would elicit a second look from me. That said, let’s move on to the Blue spells…
Belltower Sphinx 4U
Creature – Sphinx Uncommon
Flying
Whenever a source deals damage to Belltower Sphinx, that source’s controller puts that many cards from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
2/5
If this card were 2/4 for 3U, I think that it might be playable but unspectacular, but five mana is pretty steep for a 2/5. Think about what kind of Blue flyers have historically been played at five mana. One of them was a 3/3 with every conceivable ability, and the most recent was a 2/4 that merely overwhelmed the opponent with great prejudice.
Belltower Sphinx on the other hand is a creature with a marginal ability if… it blocks, I guess? I don’t know. If you are cracking with the Belltower Sphinx, it seems that you would rather be dealing two damage than possibly setting up the opponent’s Dredge cards or some such, which makes the ability less relevant in Constructed. I’m sure that it will prove tricky in forty-card formats, as five-mana flyers often make the cut regardless.
Constructed Unplayable
Cerulean Sphinx 4UU
Creature – Sphinx Rare
Flying
U: Cerulean Sphinx’s owner shuffles it into his or her library.
5/5
Now this, on the other hand… this is a creature that can get the gears turning. 5/5 flying is very reasonable for six mana in Blue, so Cerulean Sphinx should find a home in Constructed deck, Block if not Standard (though likely not Extended or wider formats).
It is interesting to compare this creature to the existing six-mana bombs, specifically in Standard. Is it better than Keiga? Clearly not. Keiga costs less specific Blue mana and has a conditionally superior special ability. I keep trying to put my Beta Mahamoti Djinn in decks, but Keiga keeps taking the first string spot (though Fat Moti has spent some bench time in good lists). Cerulean Sphinx compares favorably to Mahamoti Djinn; it is not 100% clear if one point of toughness is more valuable than faux invulnerability… My guess is that toughness wins out, but Cerulean Sphinx, like I said, will see play… and probably in good decks within the next 365.25 days.
Playable – Role Player
Compulsive Research 2U
Sorcery Common
Target player draws three cards. Then that player discards two cards unless he or she discards a land card.
This card is considerably worse than Counsel of the Soratami. Counsel of the Soratami was a marginal Limited card and saw little or no Constructed play… but at least you always net one card. Compulsive Research digs one card deeper than Counsel of the Soratami but only nets a card if you discard a land; elsewise you are just breaking even. Unless you are playing some sort of reanimation strategy, core Blue modus operandi is to draw cards and play lands while playing one-for-one answers… which is why card advantage via card drawing is good in the first place.
I don’t know. Compare this card to Probe without the possibility of kicker… Possibly there will be some sort of reanimation theme deck that is desperate for a three mana Careful Study or a Block deck that has no other options for early-to-mid turn selection. Otherwise, I rate this card:
Constructed Unplayable
Convolute 2U
Instant Common
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 4.
Is a Mana Leak good if it makes the opponent pay one additional mana to resolve his spell? What about if it requires the Leaky player to pay one more mana himself? Is it a wash?
I think not. This card is significantly worse than Mana Leak. In my experience you want counters that cost less mana than the cards that they are countering, therefore this card is weak both for the purposes of stopping early game threats (imagine going second against Boros) and at protecting your own permanents.
And yet… People will play counters pretty much regardless of their cost. For example late Onslaught Block U/W decks ran four-mana counters, and Last Word got some play in both Mirrodin Block and Standard last year. It will be sad, but Convolute will be played not only in Block but in Standard as well.
Playable – Role Player
Copy Enchantment 2U
Enchantment Rare
As Copy Enchantment comes into play, you may choose an enchantment in play. If you do, Copy Enchantment comes into play as a copy of that enchantment.
This is probably the most confusing card I have seen so far in the set. Imagine you want to copy a Genju of the Realm. I can see the hands flying up and the yelping of “Judge!” in my mind’s eye already. That said, Copy Enchantment will have some application, maybe in the Auratouched deck, though that role is not apparent to me yet.
Playable – Role Player
Dizzy Spell U
Instant Common
Target creature gets -3/-0 until end of turn.
Transmute 1UU (1UU, Discard this card: Search your library for a card with the same converted mana cost as this card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Play only as a sorcery.)
I mean it might be nice to not have to discard a card when you’re getting clocked by Hypnotic Specter but… oh wait. Change that to “it might be nice to gain two life… sort of.” At least it can Transmute into an… Never Mind.
Constructed Unplayable
Drake Familiar 1U
Creature – Drake Common
Flying
When Drake Familiar comes into play, sacrifice it unless you return an enchantment in play to its owner’s hand.
2/1
The obvious stuff includes picking up cards like Galvanic Arc. That’s very nice in Limited – especially as you are getting a cost effective flyer at the same time – but I don’t know if it makes sixty-card decks.
I’m sure there is some sort of more convoluted combination with this card, so I’ll refrain from giving it the Unplayable ranking for now.
Playable – Role Player
Dream Leash 3UU
Enchantment – Aura Rare
Enchant permanent
You may play Dream Leash only on a tapped permanent.
You control enchanted permanent.
It’s not quite Treachery, but the fact that it can be Steal Artifact, Annex, and so on as well will give it redundant value. I can already imagine a version of the Auratouched deck with four of these and four Confiscates and probably some Enduring Ideals that will be quite annoying to fight. Definitely Dream Leash will be a big force in Block.
Playable – Staple
Drift of Phantasms 2U
Creature – Spirit Common
Defender (This creature can’t attack.)
Flying
Transmute 1UU (1UU, Discard this card: Search your library for a card with the same converted mana cost as this card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Play only as a sorcery.)
0/5
Shockingly, I think that this card will see Standard play. There is precedent for 1/5 Walls for 1UU and 0/7 Walls for 2U being fairly good, so I don’t see why a 0/5 Wall for 2/U that can miraculously transform itself into a two-for-one card drawing spell wouldn’t be fine. The problem with anti-beatdown cards in general is that you don’t want to draw them against combo or other control, and this card has a built-in Compulsion. Don’t expect it in a deck that has other options (U/W or U/B) but in mono? Is it really worse than Grand Prix Champion River Kaijin? Heck, Drift of Phantasms can get River Kaijin!
Playable – Role Player
Ethereal Usher 5U
Creature – Spirit Uncommon
U, Tap: Target creature is unblockable this turn.
Transmute 1UU (1UU, Discard this card: Search your library for a card with the same converted mana cost as this card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Play only as a sorcery.)
2/3
Do I have to go over this one? I guess if you wanted more than four Keigas and were willing to… Never mind. This card is horrendous.
Constructed Unplayable
Eye of the Storm 5UU
Enchantment Rare
Whenever a player plays an instant or sorcery card, remove it from the game. Then that player copies each instant or sorcery card removed from the game with Eye of the Storm. For each copy, the player may play the copy without paying its mana cost.
This card is either going to be Time Spiral or it’s going to be completely unplayable.
The problems are these: 1) it costs seven mana, 2) in most games the opponent is going to get to use it first 3) it ain’t hard to kill.
However: 1) anything that lets you play free stuff is usually worth at least a second look, 2) cards like Early Harvest are in Ninth Edition. Basically if the opponent doesn’t kill you immediately – and many decks won’t be able to – if you untap you can probably do some utterly unfair things if you have even one card drawing instant or sorcery available. I can’t imagine with 7-8 mana available it is very difficult for a Blue mage to draw his deck.
Playable – Flagship (which is not to say that its boat might not be a leaky one…)
Flight of Fancy 3U
Enchantment – Aura Common
Enchant creature
When Flight of Fancy comes into play, draw two cards.
Enchanted creature has flying.
I don’t know if there are better cards to play in the Auratouched deck, but this card’s Inspiration-ness for essentially the same mana cost gives it a chance for viability. I don’t think any “regular” Constructed deck is going to want it, though.
Playable – Role Player
Flow of Ideas 5U
Sorcery Uncommon
Draw a card for each Island you control.
In Mono-Blue this card might compete but I don’t see it. Maybe in Block.
Constructed Unplayable
Followed Footsteps 3UU
Enchantment – Aura Rare
Enchant creature
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a creature token into play that’s a copy of enchanted creature.
This card is going to be a house in the Auratouched deck. If the opponent isn’t sufficiently messing with you, you basically go off after one turn. Think about it like this: Enduring Ideal is generally considered a win on its face… Followed Footsteps sets up the same thing against decks that can’t immediately stop a 3/3, without any Epic drawback. After that, It’s Godo Time!
Playable – Role Player
Grayscaled Gharial U
Creature – Crocodile Common
Islandwalk
1/1
“Gharials don’t like it when you grab them by the tail. Crikey, this one is a fighter!” -Last words of The Gharial Hunter
Sorry Joshie Green afficionados, I would have given the same rating to Jukai Messenger.
Constructed Unplayable
Grozoth 6UUU
Creature – Leviathan Rare
Defender (This creature can’t attack.)
When Grozoth comes into play, you may search your library for any number of cards that have converted mana cost 9, reveal them, and put them into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library.
4: Grozoth loses defender until end of turn.
Transmute 1UU (1UU, Discard this card: Search your library for a card with the same converted mana cost as this card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Play only as a sorcery.)
9/9
Tabling the comes into play trigger for the time being, my analysis of Grozoth is “if Reanimator is good, this guy might get some love.” You would basically never hard-cast him, so if he’s any good, it has to be about cheating. The interesting thing about Grozoth as opposed to any other giant animal with a prohibitive cost is that you can Transmute him directly into the graveyard on turn 3 and Zombify him on turn 4 (or a turn faster with a relevant accelerator). Once Grozoth is in play, you suddenly have a 9/9 Wall and the question becomes “if I have four mana to remove defender, can I win?” The answer is probably “maybe.” I’m not overly impressed with a 9/9 that doesn’t fly or trample, especially if he starts bringing on turn 4-5 after you’ve actually been making plays for the first several turns. Grozoth has a nice measure of defense against both straight up destruction (it’s in a reanimation strategy already) and bounce (you can discard it). Grozoth is importantly not a Legend, so you can run multiple 9/9s if your spells flow properly.
For those of you to whom this sort of thing appeals, if you really want to, you can play Grozoth in UrzaTron Blue and actually play it sometimes. This is less easy than it seems because you will need three sources of Blue mana rather than the two for Tooth and Nail.
Playable – Role Player (obviously Constructed Unplayable without some sort of cheating)
Halcyon Glaze 1UU
Enchantment Uncommon
Whenever you play a creature spell, Halcyon Glaze becomes a 4/4 Illusion creature with flying until end of turn. It’s still an enchantment.
This card is definitely playable, so I’m not going to say that it’s not. Obviously it’s nice to play the Glaze on turn 3 and then bring with a 4/4 flying creature on turn 4. My only real issue is if it will go in an actually good deck. I generally dislike any creature deck based around mustering UU on turn 3, so I’m a bit skeptical. It might be neat in some sort of Extended U/G Madness or Threshold deck, but I can’t imagine Halcyon Glaze is better than what these reasonable creature decks have already.
Playable – Role Player
Hunted Phantasm 1UU
Creature – Spirit Rare
Hunted Phantasm is unblockable.
When Hunted Phantasm comes into play, put five 1/1 Red Goblin creature tokens into play under target opponent’s control.
4/6
This sure is an interesting creature.
See my overall review of Cycles for more information. [This article will be published later. – Knut]
Induce Paranoia 2UU
Instant Common
Counter target spell. If B was spent to play Induce Paranoia, that spell’s controller puts the top X cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard, where X is the spell’s converted mana cost.
The Dimir Millstone cards seem highly format specific. Like I said about Convolute above, people will play even terrible counters to good effect if the format is narrow enough, and there is precedent for four mana counters such as Discombobulate, Rewind, and Last Word already. Like my old teammate Mike Donais used to say, “at least I know how much mana to leave up.”
Now as for the B half, it’s going to be much worse against any kind of Threshold deck or Golgari themed deck than it is against anyone else. In some cases the Millstone effect will be synergistic with an overall strategy – including Ninth Edition’s Traumatize even – but I don’t know if I approve of this card on its face. It’s the kind of card and strategy that might evolve into a good one once the metagame is set, but might be too dangerous to bring to a fairly open tournament like Champs.
One of my favorite stories is at a GP a few years ago, Billy Jensen – playing Battle of Wits – was up a game and was working Shadowmage Infiltrator when his opponent said “let’s see if you can win now,” and shot him with a Traumatize. Billy kind of chuckled, knowing his Battle of Wits strategy was no longer available, but thanked his opponent for the 100+ card hand when he played out Yawgmoth’s Agenda. A graveyard full of Prophetic Bolts was more than adequate.
The lesson of this story is that you don’t shoot in the dark if you’ve got a flashlight in your pocket.
Playable – Role Player
Lore Broker 1U
Creature – Human Rogue Uncommon
Tap: Each player draws a card, then discards a card.
1/2
I can’t imagine any good deck wanting to play this card. Have fun, non-tournament-oriented-Johnnies.
Constructed Unplayable
Mark of Eviction U
Enchantment – Aura Uncommon
Enchant creature
At the beginning of your upkeep, return enchanted creature and all Auras attached to that creature to their owners’ hands.
I like that this card can preserve Auras, but don’t know why you would want to play it. Maybe there is a bigger opportunity for recursion than I am seeing at this point in the set… I’m not going to give Mark of Eviction the Unplayable ranking, but I don’t know at what point it wouldn’t actually be unplayable.
Playable – Role Player
Mnemonic Nexus 3U
Instant Uncommon
Each player shuffles his or her graveyard into his or her library.
This card could be highly effective with Eye of the Storm, especially if there were some sort of Kodama’s Reach and a card drawing card under it already. Mnemonic Nexus might also be proof against the Dimir Millstone strategy, though I don’t know that I would actually want to use a card for this purpose, let alone spend four mana. Possibly in Block? Mnemonic Nexus isn’t the kind of card that I would ever typically want to play, but that doesn’t mean that some conjectural format down the line wouldn’t demand it.
Playable – Role Player
Muddle the Mixture UU
Instant Common
Counter target instant or sorcery spell.
Transmute 1UU (1UU, Discard this card: Search your library for a card with converted mana cost equal to this card’s, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery.)
I like Envelop but won’t play Flash Counter, personally. That said, Muddle in the Mixture is super. In some formats you can actually Transmute mid-game for Counterspell and in Standard, this card will let you get some sort of Boomerang if you need to break up an UrzaTron.
Playable – Staple
Peel from Reality 1U
Instant Common
Return target creature you control and target creature you don’t control to their owners’ hands.
My Flametongue Kavu, your Akroma, Angel of Wrath?
Could be fun, right?
This is one of those cards that is highly format-dependent to be good. I can think of a lot of places where Peel from Reality would be good in Limited but it seems a little trixie to me for straight up Constructed play. Possibly it would be a good tempo sideboard card… Any bounce is probably decent with Hunted threats.
Playable – Role Player
Quickchange 1U
Instant Common
Target creature’s color becomes the color or colors of your choice until end of turn.
Draw a card.
Quickchange is conditionally great. I like basically anything that says “draw a card,” and at 1U would consider playing this card over a dedicated manipulation spell like Telling Time if I were not playing a combo deck. The question becomes when is the actual effect of Quickchange, rather than the cantrip aspect useful? A few years ago there was a strong Mono-Blue deck that used Glacial Walls, Merfolk Looters, and so on to set up a long game Opposition lock. The default anti-control strategy was to run Yavimaya Barbarians, which ran past every creature and were proof against Opposition itself. Quickchange can simply change the color of a blocker for purposes of creature combat, solving the Yavimaya Barbarian problem, and go from there. Imagine Hand of Honor and Hand of Cruelty. Typically they sort of run by one another, hating each other’s guts, but never actually tangling. With Quickchange, one of them (probably Hand of Cruelty, I’d imagine) could mug his opposite number and walk away unscathed.
The card is narrow, yes, but the fact that you can generally burn it for a cycle makes that less meaningful. I can see this card both in trixie sort of creature strategies and as a random cantrip in decks that have colored creature removal.
Playable – Role Player
Remand 1U
Instant Uncommon
Counter target spell. If you do, return that spell card to its owner’s hand.
Draw a card.
This card will get played across the various Constructed formats. It’s quite good, cheap, perfect at holding or generating tempo, and has “draw a card” attached at the end.
Now Remand isn’t designed as a hard counter. It’s far from a hard counter, in fact. But it is great at wasting the opponent’s time. Say you are some sort of Deck-X and you are smashing the opponent with several two-power beaters. He answers with some sort of Wrath of God or Kagemaro effect. Hello Remand! You just drew into your Hokori. It’s a nice card to counter Gifts Ungiven at the end of your turn when the opponent starts a fight, and can queerly help to win counter wars and generate velocity. As long as you don’t try to cast it in Counterspell’s role, you and Remand should get along famously.
Playable – Role Player (could be Staple)
Snapping Drake 3U
Creature – Drake Common
Flying
3/2
Snapping Drake is worse than everything at this mana cost that a Blue mage would actually consider playing. In fact, it is worse than cards like Phantom Monster that were never played at all.
Constructed Unplayable
Spawnbroker 2U
Creature – Human Wizard Rare
When Spawnbroker comes into play, you may exchange control of target creature you control and target creature an opponent controls with power less than or equal to your creature’s power.
1/1
If some great utility creatures start dominating Standard, Spawnbroker will become a useful tool. It’s possible that there is some interaction with Hunted creatures or any kind of tokens as well, as long as you have the weapons to control them. In any case, I can’t imagine this card is main deck worthy.
Playable – Role Player
Stasis Cell 4U
Enchantment – Aura Common
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature doesn’t untap during its controller’s untap step.
3U: Attach Stasis Cell to target creature.
This card costs about two mana too much for consideration. I don’t know if it would be good enough for sixty-card decks at three mana, second ability or no.
Constructed Unplayable
Surveilling Sprite 1U
Creature – Faerie Rogue Common
Flying
When Surveilling Sprite is put into a graveyard from play, you may draw a card.
1/1
The first thing I did when I read this card was to see if Curiosity was still in print. It’s not. Also gone from Standard is most of the decent equipment. In a different format with Coastal Piracy or something, cards like this one would probably be good enough but I don’t think Surveilling Sprite is going to be making any cuts in the near future.
That said, it might not be a bad sideboard card. Run this guy up against some Frostlings and Hearth Kamis and the opponent probably won’t like it much.
Playable – Role Player
Tattered Drake 4U
Creature – Zombie Drake Common
Flying
B: Regenerate Tattered Drake.
2/2
No thanks.
Constructed Unplayable.
Telling Time 1U
Instant Uncommon
Look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of those cards into your hand, one on top of your library, and one on the bottom of your library.
A very bright preview writer said lots of interesting things about this card a few weeks ago. You can read his wonderful comments here if you haven’t, and check back again if you already have.
Playable – Role Player
Terraformer 2U
Creature – Human Wizard Common
1: Choose a basic land type. The land type of each land you control becomes that type until end of turn.
2/2
This card is extremely interesting. It is a queer sort of mana fixing and is proof against Boiling Seas. It lets you block landwalking creatures and cast Mind Sludge. I don’t know if I’d actually want to do any of those things – main deck at least – but the sheer number of possibilities at a low cost – attached to a reasonable body for a Blue creature – means that this card is probably worth a second look somewhere along the way.
Playable – Role Player
Tidewater Minion 3UU
Creature – Elemental Uncommon
Defender (This creature can’t attack.)
4: Tidewater Minion loses defender until end of turn.
Tap: Untap target permanent.
4/4
Has Defender, doesn’t have flying. Tidewater Minion’s ability is quite interesting but it costs more mana than I would consider playing. Unless it shows up in some very specific deck, I don’t think it will show up at all.
Constructed Unplayable
Tunnel Vision 5U
Sorcery Rare
Name a card. Target player reveals cards from the top of his or her library until the named card is revealed. If it is, that player puts the rest of the revealed cards into his or her graveyard and puts the named card on top of his or her library. Otherwise, the player shuffles his or her library.
This card is both incredibly useful and incredibly powerful. Sadly, it is also incredibly cost prohibitive. Its best case scenario for you is probably as some sort of a horribly expensive Vampiric Tutor; against the other guy, it is conditionally a Millstone of undetermined strength… but it costs six mana. Perhaps in the right combo deck it would see play, perhaps in Eye of the Storm with a lot of available mana, but in any regular deck? Petals of Insight is probably a better engine card on its face and no one even considers that one.
Constructed Unplayable
Vedalken Dismisser 5U
Creature – Vedalken Wizard Common
When Vedalken Dismisser comes into play, put target creature on top of its owner’s library.
2/2
At three mana, I – and everyone else – would be all over this card. At four mana no one would touch it with a ten-foot pole. It costs six.
Constructed Unplayable
Vedalken Entrancer 3U
Creature – Vedalken Wizard Common
U, Tap: Target player puts the top two cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
1/4
The price is just about right on this guy. He is very comparable to Benalish Heralds, mixing a decent enough behind to matter at a cost that isn’t overly high with an ability that can and will be relevant. R&D really seems to want to Millstone people, and Vedalken Entrancer has exactly the classic’s ability. I don’t know if that ability will be good in a format where Golgari are sure to appear. The problem is that any random Milling effect can backfire into a Demonic Tutor for the opponent, and that’s just not acceptable. If House Dimir is going to be playing one-for-one with the Golgari, it’s never going to win against all Blinking Spirit – and Spiritmonger-level threats if its primary route to victory is two cards off the top per turn… Not when the Blinkies and Mongers are 4/4 and above.
Against most other boring creature strategies, the Entrancer is pretty sufficient. He can block bears and giants and Watchwolves, but he’s pretty clunky and easy to kill for a real control deck. If this card isn’t played in Block it will be close to making the cut, but don’t expect it to be a Standard or Extended superstar.
Playable – Role Player
Wizened Snitches 3U
Creature – Faerie Rogue Uncommon
Flying
Players play with the top card of their libraries revealed.
1/3
Cards that cost four or more should be capable of winning the game. Wizened Snitches isn’t capable of winning a fight with the two-drops in this format.
Constructed Unplayable
Zephyr Spirit 4U
Creature – Spirit Common
When Zephyr Spirit blocks, return it to its owner’s hand.
0/6
Unless you’ve got some mad Spiritcraft and a million mana, leave this guy at home. In fact, Blinking Spirit version one point oh is better than this cat for Spiritcraft triggers and blocking for its cost (as long as you can access White), and I’m pretty sure that he’s too expensive.
Constructed Unplayable
White was underwhelming in its non-Gold/non-Guild form, and Blue is perhaps less exciting. Ravnica gives us some playable instants like Muddle the Mixture, Remand, and Telling Time, but few central staple cards. One thing to keep in mind is that Blue is thinner overall in Ravnica than any other color but Red, so don’t expect to be too wowed by the color when we get that far in any case. Eye of the Storm might become an exceptional combo card, especially with big mana like Heartbeat of Spring and Early Harvest in the Standard pool, but Ravnica does not build upon the kinds of cards that have made Mono-Blue a powerhouse in Standard or Kamigawa Block over the last several months.
Up Next: Black