Land, Rares (11)
Adarkar Wastes
Forge[/author]“]Battlefield [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]
Brushland
Caves of Koilos
Dust Bowl
Karplusan Forest
Llanowar Wastes
Shivan Reef
Sulfurous Springs
Underground River
Yavimaya Coast
Well, the big news is that all of the painlands are reprinted. Dust Bowl also sees play as a permanent solution to non-basic lands.
Artifact, Rares (19)
Ankh of Mishra
Bubble Matrix
Coat of Arms
Cursed Totem
Disrupting Scepter
Grid Monitor
Howling Mine
Jade Statue
Jayemdae Tome
Jester’s Cap
Juntu Stakes
Lotus Blossom
Mana Web
Meekstone
Millstone
Null Rod
Phyrexian Colossus
Snake Basket
Smokestack
We can have more artifacts in the rare slots than the color slots because, ultimately, there is a need for artifacts in the environment. Classics like Jayemdae Tome and Disrupting Scepter, Millstone and Howling Mine, Meekstone, and Ankh of Mishra remain. Snake Basket will remain as our token producer. Phyrexian Colossus and Jade Statue will be our creatures of choice. Mana Web, Cursed Totem, Meekstone, Null Rod, Jester’s Cap, Juntu Stakes, and Bubble Matrix are all cards included to keep other cards in check. Coat of Arms always helps to support theme decks. Grid Monitor is our only innate rare artifact creature in addition to assisting the occasional deck design. Lastly, Smokestack should see play in more aggressive decks.
Several artifacts came close to making the final cut, but the last card cut was Eon Hub.
White Rares (16)
Avenging Angel
Blaze of Glory
Glorious Anthem
Intrepid Hero
Ivory Mask
Master Healer
Reverse Damage
Oblation
Pegasus Refuge
Sacred Ground
Serra Angel
Solitary Confinement
Spiritual Focus
Sunweb
Worship
Wrath of God
In the rare slots, there is no longer a need for balance between creatures and spells, as it will have virtually no impact on Limited. Wrath of God remains, although Armageddon is no longer with us. Sunweb, Serra Angel, Avenging Angel, Master Healer, and Intrepid Hero bring up our creature base. Sacred Ground, Spiritual Focus and Ivory Mask help White counter various strategies. Solitary Confinement comes in from Judgment to give whit an ultra-protection. Worship remains as well. Pegasus Refuge gives White a token generator, and Glorious Anthem shows White unity. Blaze of Glory is reprinted here to bring back an old card. I really enjoy Oblation as White’s answer to all targetable permanents.
Cards that just missed the cut include Dawn Elemental and Aurification.
Green Rares (16)
Child of Gaea
City of Solitude
Collective Unconscious
Dense Foliage
Elvish Champion
Erhnam Djinn
Hurricane
Joiner Adept
Liege of the Hollows
Might of Oaks
Nature’s Resurgence
Nature’s Revolt
Pack Hunt
Restock
Utopia Tree
Verduran Enchantress
I think we can safely reprint Erhnam Djinn, since it was in Judgment. I wanted Green to have some card drawing in order to compete with other colors – and therefore, I included both Nature’s Resurgence and Collective Unconscious. Utopia Tree replaces Birds, and that will be big news. Hurricane and Verduran Enchantress are old faithfuls. Child of Gaea comes in as the big banner creature. Elvish Champion and Liege of the Hollows are the thematic creatures. Joiner Adept "joins" the party with all of its color-based fun.
City of Solitude is around to be a foil for other cards. Pack Hunt and Restock represent the pinnacle of each of those abilities in Green, hence they are rare. Might of Oaks, Nature’s Revolt, and Dense Foliage round out the rares with some classically Green abilities.
Red Rares (16)
Bedlam
Earthquake
Fervor
Final Fortune
Goblin King
Goblin Wizard
Keldon Firebombers
Ogre Shaman
Price of Glory
Relentless Assault
Searing Wind
Shatterstorm
Shivan Dragon
Thundermare
Twist Allegiance
Wildfire
For creatures, we have larger options like Shivan Dragon, Ogre Shaman, and Thundermare. We also have several options for blowing up lots of stuff: Shatterstorm, Earthquake, and Wildfire. Keldon Firebombers continues that theme. Goblin King will still be around, but he is joined by his Wizard buddy. Bedlam and Fervor create typical Red-like environments. Relentless Assault rejoins the Red barrage. Searing Wind is notable as the only rare burn spell – and the only Wind to make the cut. Twist Allegiance continues the temporary taking of creatures. Final Fortune reprises its role as a bad Time Walk. Price of Glory rounds out the Red selection.
I also considered Butcher Orgg and Soulblast.
Black Rares (16)
Bone Dancer
Delraich
Extinction
Fallen Angel
Fevered Convulsions
Hellfire
Lord of the Undead
Megrim
Necrosavant
No Mercy
Persecute
Phyrexian Arena
Planar Void
Reprocess
Sengir Vampire
Stronghold Assassin
I went with Lord of the Undead over Zombie Master, due to power. Stronghold Assassin is the obligatory assassin representative. Look for No Mercy to prove very powerful. Extinction is included to attack players who are using a creature-oriented theme. Bone Dancer and Necrosavant represent creatures and graveyard recursion. Black gets card drawing in Phyrexian Arena and Reprocess. Persecute is the big bad Addle. Planar Void is a foil. Megrim has been moved to the rare slot, basically, because there was room here, and it has a rare feel to it. (Humble an uncommon, but Megrim has a rare feel? – The Ferrett, not getting it) Hellfire is a Legends reprint that could see some moderate play. Fallen Angel, Sengir Vampire, and Delraich are the two banner creatures, while Fevered Convulsions rounds out the selection.
Blue Rares (16)
Balance of Power
Bribery
Clone
Deflection
Denizen of the Deep
Desertion
Evacuation
Last Word
Mahamoti Djinn
Opposition
Show and Tell
Temporal Adept
Time Warp
Trade Secrets
Troublesome Spirit
Zephid
There are a couple of powerful additions to Blue. Time Warp will be a popular choice, and Opposition is back. Denizen of the Deep is an 11/11 for eight mana. Clone will be a popular reprint. However, Blue does lose Lord of Atlantis. If the Lord cost 1UU, I’d include it – but at UU, he is too good, and he makes fish decks too powerful.
Other reprints are Zephid, Show and Tell, and Bribery. Each of these should prove quite interesting. Mahamoti Djinn will still see play. Balance of Power and Trade Secrets are available for card drawing. Two Counterspells join us with Desertion and Last Word. Even Deflection can have a Counterspell feel. Temporal Adept will bounce cards, and Evacuation will bounce a lot of things. Troublesome Spirit rounds out the Blue selections.
I ultimately deemed Stifle to be too complicated to include, but I wanted to. Rising Waters almost made the cut, despite Wizards recently moving the ability to White. I also heavily considered March of the Machines.
The above synopsis was quite brief. In the next section, I will go into a lot more detail concerning the principles used to create this set.