As we neared our first weekend of Amonkhet with more than two days to prepare, the format has been largely unexplored. The “emergency” ban of Felidar Guardian left a lot of players scrambling, and Week 1 was largely dominated by Mardu Vehicles. That said, there were still a fair number of new entries, and while I would be surprised if Mardu Vehicles wasn’t one of the defining pillars of the format, there’s a lot of potential space to explore to find the others.
As a starting point, you could do a lot worse than a 3/2 haste for three. Geier Reach Bandit doesn’t exactly get played much, though, so we’re going to need something.
Where Ahn-Crop Crasher gets its money, of course, is when you actually use the Exert ability. At that point, we’re talking about a dashed Goblin Heelcutter that doesn’t actually need you to recast it next turn, but that also won’t be able to attack next turn. However, one other advantage is that the “backup plan” is a 3/2 with haste (rather than a four-cost creature without haste).
The most obvious home for Ahn-Crop Crasher is in some kind of Red Deck Wins sort of jam. These decks haven’t been particularly strong lately, so it’d take a pretty meaningful buff. Fortunately, Amonkhet has several attractive options to consider.
Creatures (23)
- 4 Falkenrath Gorger
- 3 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
- 4 Glorybringer
- 4 Ahn-Crop Crasher
- 4 Soul-Scar Mage
- 4 Harsh Mentor
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (22)
Spells (12)
Ahn-Crop Crasher really needs one- and two-drops to lead the way in order to maximize the value from removing a blocker. Red has been lagging behind white lately, but at least we’ve got some new options.
Soul-Scar Mage has a lot going on. To start with, it’s at least a Monastery Swiftspear without haste. Monastery Swiftspear was a cross-format all-star, and that’s already a fairly attractive deal.
Soul-Scar Mage also lets your burn spells shrink opposing creatures. At first blush, it might not seem like such a big deal, since we wanted to kill our opponent’s creatures with our burn anyway. However, the first time you Shock a Heart of Kiran that made the mistake of blocking your Soul-Scar Mage, a lot of things start to make sense in the world. It’s important to remember that your cards’ abilities are also improved by the Soul-Scar Mage, such as Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Glorybringer. It’s even a Human!
I don’t know if we can really Harsh Mentor maindeck, but it is nice against Vehicles. While it doesn’t actually directly target planeswalker abilities, damage from Harsh Mentor can be redirected to them. Some additional applications include Equipment, Duskwatch Recruiter, each individual activation of Walking Ballista (meaning they’ll take six damage if they want to put a second counter on one and then remove both counters to shoot the Mentor), sacrificing stuff to Yahenni, sacrificing Clues, activating creature-lands, and Evolving Wilds, just to name a few.
Harsh Mentor is likely to be a pretty relevant card for powered formats, thanks to its ability to punish fetchlands, Inkmoth Nexus, Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, Spellskite, and so on.
While there are a lot of other fancy options you could play, Sunscorched Desert looks very appealing to me. It’s very “on-plan,” and that it asks no extra mana of you is a really big advantage compared to stuff like Westvale Abbey or Geier Reach Sanitarium. I wonder how this changes the calculus for cards like Sea Gate Wreckage? Some amount of Spire of Industry and/or Aether Hub might give us enough access to colorless mana to actually support Sea Gate Wreckage while staying focused on our red aggro strategy.
The list above goes a little higher up the curve than most previous red decks because of the possibility of playing Glorybringer, one of the absolute best cards in the set.
Glorybringer is an absolutely incredible blend of Stormbreath Dragon and Flametongue Kavu. I think it’s going to be one of the defining cards in the format, and not just because of its ability to find a home in Mardu Vehicles. For example, Ryan McDonough’s second-place list from this past weekend features a pair:
Creatures (18)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (24)
Spells (14)
If Glorybringer were merely a 4/4 flying haste Dragon for five, it’d still be a potential discussion. However, you only have to Lightning Blast one creature to have more than gotten enough mileage to make it a good deal. Even just killing a 2/2 is often great value. For instance, let’s say your opponent taps out for a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. If you cast Glorybringer and attack Gideon, you can exert the Dragon to kill the token, kill Gideon with the four damage, and you still have a Dragon.
While Glorybringer is great in aggro, it can actually do so much more. For instance:
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (7)
Lands (26)
Spells (19)
This list probably has too many fives, but at least they are all great!
That said, I’m not a big fan of playing bad cards to try to make Goblin Dark-Dwellers good. There are enough good sorceries and instants; hopefully we don’t need to sink so low as to play Painful Lesson.
Yes, that list above has one. Some people just copy decklists without reading the reasoning behind the ideas. They may be well-served to learn a Painful Lesson.
Magma Spray is awesome. Shock was already great, and with Felidar Guardian banned, there’s a lot less need to be able to go to the face. Instead, we gain a powerful weapon against Scrapheap Scrounger, Dread Wanderer, Relentless Dead, delirium, and more.
I’m a big fan of Sweltering Suns. Cycling is a great addition to such a potent sweeper, even if it costs a fair bit to do so. In control matchups where you’d want to cycle it, the three-cost is less likely to be an issue. It’s a Radiant Flames that doesn’t require a third color! With Magma Spray so often at hitting for two and Cut//Ribbons hitting for four, Sweltering Suns does the right amount of damage.
A Flame Slash for two might still be worth considering. Mizzium Mortars saw a lot of play in decks that weren’t likely to overload it. Of course, Cut//Ribbons also comes with an X-Spell that ends games and sort of gives the card a bit of a Profane Command vibe. While Cut//Ribbons isn’t optimized for fighting Heart of Kiran, there’s no question, it’s going to be a staple of the format.
Creatures (19)
Lands (21)
Spells (20)
Cut//Ribbons is a particularly interesting addition to any sort of Madness deck, since you are still getting half a card out of it even if you pitch it to a Key to the City or whatever. It’s also nice to be able to get it out of your hand against a control deck, where, unlike most cheap removal, it can actually turn into a game-winning threat.
Speaking of Madness, Battlefield Scavenger isn’t the pushiest rate ever, but it could potentially appear in some sort of dedicated Madness deck. My concern is just how much competition there already is at the two-spot.
Creatures (26)
- 3 Incorrigible Youths
- 4 Falkenrath Gorger
- 4 Insolent Neonate
- 2 Stromkirk Occultist
- 1 Hazoret the Fervent
- 4 Flameblade Adept
- 4 Battlefield Scavenger
- 4 Bloodrage Brawler
Lands (22)
Spells (12)
Whenever I start down this path, I always come back to how much we should probably just be playing Bomat Courier. Once we’ve got Bomat Courier alongside Key to the City, why are we not playing Scrapheap Scrounger? Once we’ve got Scrapheap Scrounger, why are we not playing Unlicensed Disintegration?
Hazoret the Fervent is definitely more of a one- or two-of than four-of when we should be playing it at all. It’s a bit clunky, but it’s kind of nice against midrange decks, both for its resiliency and the final points of damage it assists with. Generally, however, I am not as optimistic about Hazoret as many. Dying to Grasp of Darkness or Cast Out? That’s kind of a big pair of blind spots.
The fourth point of power goes a long way on Bloodrage Brawler, giving us new reason to look for Madness-type cards that don’t require extra mana up front. Scrapheap Scrounger, Aftermath cards, and Embalm cards all come to mind, whereas Incorrigible Youths is actually challenging to make work with the Brawler.
The card I’m most excited to discard is Honored Hydra.
Getting a 6/6 trampler for four is great, right out the gate. That we can also use the card to get some other gain is just gravy. What’s more, we might even just cast it as a six-drop sometimes.
Creatures (24)
- 4 Noose Constrictor
- 4 Scrapheap Scrounger
- 4 Inventor's Apprentice
- 4 Flameblade Adept
- 4 Honored Hydra
- 4 Bloodrage Brawler
Lands (22)
Spells (14)
It really takes a lot to make Flameblade Adept better than Soul-Scar Mage, or even just good enough, really.
While it’s tempting to try to use it in Madness aggro decks, maybe we’re actually just supposed to use it with cycling cards?
Creatures (20)
Lands (23)
Spells (16)
I don’t know. This just doesn’t seem like it’s taking us anywhere powerful enough to be worth the trouble. We’re going to be losing tempo cycling, and for what? I don’t think we’ll be regaining enough to catch back up.
Any cycling card for one is going to be worth keeping in mind, and this is the only one-cost red cycler in the set.
A fine niche sideboard card. Dual Shot is an instant but only hits two targets. Savage Alliance has other options but costs more. Blazing Volley isn’t breaking records, but it is efficient at what it does.
Bloodlust Inciter does for one mana what we’d usually have to pay two for. It’s even a Human!
Creatures (30)
- 4 Expedition Envoy
- 4 Thraben Inspector
- 4 Thalia's Lieutenant
- 4 Hanweir Garrison
- 2 Metallic Mimic
- 4 Glory-Bound Initiate
- 4 Bloodlust Inciter
- 4 Honored Crop-Captain
Lands (22)
Spells (8)
Bloodlust Inciter giving Thalia’s Lieutenant, Hanweir Garrison, or Honored Crop-Captain haste is a big game.
If Honored Crop-Captain pumps up anything, we’re already ahead of the game. This is just so much damage without having to actually pay for it. Not as much as Thalia’s Lieutenant plus Hanweir Garrison, maybe, but not much is.
Glory-Bound Initiate is pretty respectable on its own, hitting reasonably hard and giving us some options for racing. Once you factor in Always Watching, however, the card actually gets downright good.
While I’m trying just one here, I could totally see playing more. The ability to double damage on your turn makes the card sort of play like Relentless Assault. Then, on the backside, you get Lunge without even needing an extra card.
You’ve come a long way, Dwarven Warrior!
In all seriousness, though. How much rate does it take before Dwarven Warrior is good enough? Not only is Pathmaker Initiate cheaper and bigger, it’s even a Human! I’m not overly optimistic about Pathmaker Initiate, but I think it would be wrong to dismiss it out of hand.
Already in Oath of the Gatewatch, but this version is a little stronger.
Worthy of sideboard consideration. Generally speaking, we’d usually be willing to spend a mana per artifact to buy a 2/2. However, By Force and Release the Gremlins are bound by our mana. If we don’t have enough mana to Release the Gremlins for the full amount, now we’re trading Shatters for 2/2s when we’re explicitly in the market for Shatters.
Cartouche of Zeal is at least worth considering, if only because it’s a Hammerhand upgrade. Getting to bounce Trial of Zeal is just a bonus.
Dealing three damage to a creature or player for three, at sorcery speed, is a little overcosted; however, if you ever bounce Trial of Zeal, you’ll quickly be getting value most burn spells wouldn’t give you.
Creatures (22)
Lands (22)
Spells (16)
Trial of Ambition is very promising, as a two-mana Edict would probably see some play, even without Cartouche synergies.
The key to finding the proper home for Trial of Ambition is probably going to be finding a way to use it without getting too crazy and making too many odd choices to try to maximize it…
…Right?
…Right?!
Creatures (24)
- 4 Expedition Envoy
- 4 Thraben Inspector
- 4 Thalia's Lieutenant
- 4 Hanweir Garrison
- 4 Soul-Scar Mage
- 4 Honored Crop-Captain
Lands (20)
Spells (16)
I don’t know the right mix yet, but I’m really into the mana efficiency of Cartouche of Zeal and Cartouche of Solidarity. I’m also intrigued by the Cartouches with prowess in general.
Cartouche of Solidarity is 2/2 worth of material, spread across two bodies. Half gains vigilance, the other half first strike. It’s a little tricky to find a home that can appreciate every part of the card, but I think it’s going to ultimately prove good enough. Where, however, is going to take some work.
Combat Celebrant is the sort of curiosity that is unlikely to pan out; but every once in a while, such an oddball sneaks past. When it does, it’s usually because of how much the interaction everyone plays doesn’t quite line up right on a given weekend. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s how this one is going to play out this time. Still, here’s an attempt:
Creatures (21)
- 4 Thraben Inspector
- 4 Scrapheap Scrounger
- 4 Toolcraft Exemplar
- 3 Glorybringer
- 2 Combat Celebrant
- 4 Glory-Bound Initiate
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (23)
Spells (12)
Combat Celebrant is kind of sweet with Glory-Bound Initiate and Toolcraft Exemplar, since both trigger at the beginning of combat, meaning you get a better multiplier on the second attack. Toolcraft Exemplar attacks for three and then five.
Trueheart Twins is ostensibly an “Exert build-around;” however, it costs five and the best Exert card is the five-cost Glorybringer.
The new red Unstable Mutation has three basic things going for it.
- It’s an Aura, so we could potentially put alongside Sram, Senior Edificer with cards like Cartouche of Zeal and Cartouche of Solidarity.
- It makes -1/-1 counters, so maybe we can combo it with Soul-Scar Mage; Nest of Scarabs; Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons; or Hapatra’s Mark.
- It’s +3/+3 for just one mana. Even the next turn, we’re still getting more than usual, and if the creature already lived three turns, we’re really happy anyway.
- 10 Mountain
- 4 Island
- 3 Shock
- 4 Fiery Temper
- 2 Lightning Axe
- 2 Tormenting Voice
- 4 Fevered Visions
- 4 Incendiary Flow
- 4 Collective Defiance
- 4 Ahn-Crop Crasher
- 4 Soul-Scar Mage
- 4 Neheb, the Worthy
- 4 Dread Wanderer
- 4 Bloodrage Brawler
- 2 Warfire Javelineer
- 4 Expedition Envoy
- 4 Thraben Inspector
- 4 Thalia's Lieutenant
- 4 Town Gossipmonger
- 2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
- 4 Trueheart Duelist
- 4 Glory-Bound Initiate
- 1 Vizier of Deferment
- 4 Thraben Inspector
- 4 Thalia's Lieutenant
- 3 Town Gossipmonger
- 4 Lone Rider
- 4 Selfless Spirit
- 4 Glory-Bound Initiate
- 3 Devoted Crop-Mate
- 4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
- 2 Sorin, Grim Nemesis
- 2 Liliana, the Last Hope
- 2 Gideon of the Trials
- 1 Liliana, Death's Majesty
- 3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
- 2 Chandra, Flamecaller
- 4 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
- 4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
- 1 Nissa, Vital Force
- 2 Ajani Unyielding
- 3 Gideon of the Trials
- 2 Relentless Dead
- 4 Diregraf Colossus
- 4 Cryptbreaker
- 4 Scrapheap Scrounger
- 4 Lord of the Accursed
- 4 Plague Belcher
- 4 Dread Wanderer
- 4 Wayward Servant
- 4 Relentless Dead
- 4 Diregraf Colossus
- 4 Cryptbreaker
- 4 Lord of the Accursed
- 4 Dread Wanderer
- 4 Wayward Servant
- 1 Festering Mummy
- 4 Sylvan Advocate
- 4 Tireless Tracker
- 2 Angel of Invention
- 4 Walking Ballista
- 2 Manglehorn
- 2 Oketra the True
- 2 Felidar Cub
- 4 Scythe Leopard
- 4 Metallic Mimic
- 4 Prowling Serpopard
- 4 Sacred Cat
- 4 Regal Caracal
- 4 Initiate's Companion
- 4 Lambholt Pacifist
- 4 Noose Constrictor
- 4 Glorybringer
- 4 Prowling Serpopard
- 4 Crocodile of the Crossing
- 2 Honored Hydra
- 4 Rhonas the Indomitable
- 4 Bloodrage Brawler
Here’s an example of the third approach:
Creatures (20)
Lands (22)
Spells (18)
Really, however, I’m going to be watching for hexproof creatures worthy of picking up Consuming Fervor.
Fling is pretty sweet with this much cheap pump as a way of dealing double damage. A more typical application, however, will be as a kill card for various combo decks, for instance, if we’ve got a lot of ways to pump a Ravenous Intruder or Defiant Salvager. It’s also interesting to note Hazoret the Fervent can always be Flung, even if our hand isn’t down to one.
Deem Worthy is slightly unwieldy, but it does a passable job as hard removal for fatties and card advantage-y removal for small creatures. Unfortunately, it has to compete with Brutal Expulsion, among others, and in a world that places a premium on Magma Spray (or being good against it).
Creatures (6)
Lands (26)
Spells (28)
Flame Lash is a Kaladesh precon deck card that is exactly Electrify, exception with the option to go upstairs. It has only ever barely seen fringe play as an addition Torrential Gearhulk target.
Almost surely Draft only.
Final Fortune meets Time Stop: Glorious End is an interesting trick that has decent chances of showing up in small numbers in various red aggro decks, particularly ones with Gideon of the Trials, enabling us to prevent ourselves from dying.
We certainly don’t need to combo the cards to make them good, but it can really help.
Creatures (16)
Planeswalkers (8)
Lands (23)
Spells (13)
I know a lot of people are excited about playing multiple Glorious Ends in a row, but these aren’t Time Walks we’re talking about here. A Glorious End can save you from dying for a turn from the previous Glorious End, but then your opponent gets a turn, and then you have one more turn before death.
It’s ambitious, but in theory we could also combine Glorious End with Torrential Gearhulk. Having access to Disallow gives us more possible things to find that can help us survive (though, most of the time, if we had a Disallow in the first place, we could have accomplished what Glorious End does).
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (26)
Spells (24)
Hazoret’s Favor is an interesting way to capitalizing on temporary stealing, like that of Kari Zev’s Expertise, Wrangle, and Limits of Solidarity. It also might go alongside Fling or some sort of power-doubling semi-combo deck. Maybe Electrostatic Pummeler?
While Limits of Solidarity is too expensive to be really compelling in Constructed, it’s possible that it lets us play eight or more temporary stealing effects with less risk of getting stuck with a fist full of them.
While Heart-Piercer Manticore was so close to greatness, the banning of Felidar Guardian may have cost the Manticore its best shot of glory. There were a number of combos possible that would let you mill your whole deck, such as Felidar Guardian plus Liliana, Death’s Majesty. A Defiant Salvager would easily let you mill your deck from Liliana’s ability (each time getting back the Guardian, then blinking Liliana and sacrificing the Guardian). Then, with your deck milled, get back Heart-Piercer Manticore and sacrifice the Salvager to deal millions.
As it stands, I guess you can sacrifice a creature with deathtouch to build a Bone Splinters?
Like most vanillas, this one is for Draft.
Unlike Heart-Piercer Manticore, this one wasn’t even close to greatness for even a moment.
Draft, unless you’re really in the market for a Minotaur. It’s not horrendous, but it is below the bar for what we’d normally be in for in Constructed.
You’d probably have to be really into Nef-Crop Entangler being a Human and combining it with Always Watching. Even still, there’s probably too much competition at the two-spot.
A functional reprint of Sanguinary Mage, but not even a Vampire!
Probably mostly just a Draft card; however, stranger things have happened. If there’s some cycling deck with a tokens sub-theme, Pursue Glory might have some extra purpose.
While this condition is easy to meet, and it could be sweet to “get” people with instants from time to time, the ceiling is basically just a 4/4 for three. That’s not actually even impressive.
Frequent reprint, though it does have new meaning with cards like Honored Hydra. Really, however, it’s still going to be most commonly showing up in decks like Jason Bennett’s U/R Thermo-Alchemist list from this past weekend:
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (9)
Spells (37)
Sideboard
Lay Waste has shown up in Constructed, so it’s certainly not out of the question. Of course, that format had Tolarian Academy and Gaea’s Cradle, so land destruction was at a premium.
That’s a lot of work for a smaller Flametongue Kavu. At least it’s a Minotaur, I guess.
Creatures (22)
Lands (23)
Spells (15)
Let’s be serious; the Minotaurs aren’t ready yet.
Merciless Javelineer doesn’t have a big enough impact on the game for this kind of mana-to-body ratio, even as a Minotaur.
Angel of Sanctions is trying to break into one of the toughest casting costs in the format. The competition is just so high. Still, Angel of Sanctions is reasonably aggressively costed, and the combination of versatile interaction and resiliency that goes along with Embalm is enough to add up to a serious tournament card when combined with some graveyard interactions. For instance:
Creatures (19)
Lands (22)
Spells (19)
Benefaction of Rhonas is mostly just a draw-two with selection. It does require you to contort your deck; however, it has the added bonus of a fair bit of self-mill, giving you extra graveyard interactions.
Sacred Cat seems pretty decent to me. It does a passable Doomed Traveler impression and can actually be a pretty efficient sideboard card for control decks looking for cheap interaction against Red Deck Wins, Zombies, and Humans. U/W is especially in the market for such a thing without access to nice one-mana plays like Magma Spray or Fatal Push.
Trueheart Duelist is a reasonably resilient two-drop Human that actually triggers Thalia’s Lieutenant both coming and going. Here, it’s another Embalm creature, which might be only medium. Maybe instead:
Creatures (27)
Lands (21)
Spells (12)
Kind of a mondo-combo with Thalia’s Lieutenant. It’s also kind of cute against tokens, Embalm creatures, and creatures with Auras. Still, I’d rather play it in a deck with Archangel Avacyn or Cloudblazer. Here? We’d probably be better served with Devoted Crop-Mate.
Devoted Crop-Mate isn’t the sickest ever, but it’s pretty solid. Evan Wilson used three copies in the maindeck of the mono-white list he cashed this past weekend’s Open with. His targets included:
In particular, getting back Thalia’s Lieutenant or Selfless Spirit can have a profound impact on the battlefield.
Creatures (26)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (21)
Spells (11)
An extensive breakdown of Dusk//Dawn can be found here. Which is good, because it’s a complex subject. In Evan’s list, it’s a potent mid- and late-game bomb against green decks. It’s also a potential super card draw spell against midrange or control decks if we don’t mind taking our sweet time.
Cast Out is very respectable, letting decks play many more answers than usual to problematic permanents like planeswalkers, artifacts, and enchantments. It is versatile creature removal, and even if you draw too many, you can cycle it to keep the new cards coming. The most common uses will probably be in midrange or control decks.
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (11)
Lands (26)
Spells (16)
It can be tough, playing with so many Gideons; however, Gideon of the Trials is a very powerful planeswalker that gives us a lot of extra value out of our Fumigates. It’s interesting to note that when we’re going to Fumigate, we can activate Gideon of the Trials (gaining an extra life since it’s indestructible), Fumigate, and then attack their Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. Just make sure you’re prepared for Heart of Kiran!
Also, good to note, Yahenni’s Expertise takes on new life, not that you can play both Liliana, the Last Hope and Gideon of the Trials in the same deck.
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (10)
Lands (26)
Spells (16)
Again, we have the friction between Gideons; however, if they don’t deal with Gideon of the Trials, it’s going to be very difficult for them to stop Chandra, Torch of Defiance. If they do deal with it, it’ll be that much harder for them to stop Gideon, Ally of Zendikar.
Another amusing implication of Gideon of the Trials is the further increase in population of castable, powerful planeswalkers, should one try to Deploy the Gatewatch. It’s a little awkward how many have the same name, but that might not be a dealbreaker.
Planeswalkers (19)
Lands (24)
Spells (17)
Oath of Ajani sure is sweet here.
Another possible home for Cast Out is in some sort of Approach of the Second Sun deck. It’s not just that Cast Out is versatile removal (though that is the majority of it). Cycling Cast Out is also a sweet way to power up Corrupted Grafstone, which can then curve into a turn 3 Hedron Archive, followed by a turn 4 Approach of the Second Sun.
It’s not enough to just cast Approach of the Second Sun, however. Yeah, sometimes we’ll just draw two. In general, though, we’re going to want ways to clear the top of our deck enough that we draw the Approach of the Second Sun next turn, or the turn after.
In addition to cycling, this list has Pieces of the Puzzle and Glimmer of Genius to make progress, as well as occasionally just straight-up casting Compelling Argument. Sequestered Stash is also an option in a pinch. Remember, you don’t have to put anything on top, if what you really want is that Approach of the Second Sun you know is on top.
Various Embalm and token-based strategies abusing Anointed Procession can be found here.
Maybe Anointed Priest is a beefy enough body to make it a worthwhile sideboard card for token-heavy decks. It’s actually kind of close, and playing one or two maindeck is actually kind of interesting in terms of how much it improves any of your self-mill cards that give you chances of eventually finding one to help dig you out of a Cut//Ribbons race.
There’d have to be a lot of Traverse the Ulvenwald to get me interested in Aven Mindcensor at the moment, but the card was playable last time it was legal.
On the surface, Binding Mummy seems like a draft card. However, it can also be used for helping break creature standoffs. For instance, check out the sideboard of Zac Caudillo’s B/W Zombies deck, which he piloted to a Top 16 finish at SCG Atlanta:
Creatures (30)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (20)
Spells (8)
Theme deck card. We can do better. I’m tempted to build around Quicksmith Spy and both good Gideons, but there isn’t enough else to support this strategy.
Cute, as far as Pacifism variants go. However, the current focus on planeswalkers and Heart of Kiran makes Pacifism less appealing than usual. We’ve got Cast Out for any such needs.
While this is probably mostly a Draft trick, it is so cheap and flexible, I’m not 100% it’s Constructed-unplayable. In particular, it works especially well with Exert.
It’s a Zombie with a useful, if overcosted ability. It’s slightly overstated. This one is fringe, but it’s kind of “eh.”
A quality card, held back a bit by the robust power of Cast Out. Still, Forsake the Worldly is definitely good enough, and it hitting opposing Cast Outs is particularly exciting (especially in the middle of combat).
Way, way too expensive. Would be mediocre at five, let alone seven.
A fine role-player that might be maindeckable, though a lot of white decks have crowded four-spots. It’s particularly effective against Torrential Gearhulk, Cast Out, Scrapheap Scrounger, Heart of Kiran, Glorybringer, and Cut//Ribbons.
Way too expensive for a card that finds another card that’s way too expensive.
Precon card. Like Cats. Like rate even more, though.
Probably Draft only, but I guess it’s possible you’ve got enough combos between Always Watching, Thalia’s Lieutenant, and maybe some kind of Exerted-matters stuff.
Underpowered reprint.
Fringe Zombie aggro option, especially for Zombie decks with a token sub-theme.
Creatures (25)
Lands (23)
Spells (12)
Pretty soft for a reprint, if I might jump to conclusions.
Oketra is a pretty inefficient token-maker; however, if we’re already playing tokens, a 3/6 indestructible double damage creature is actually great.
Creatures (18)
Planeswalkers (8)
Lands (26)
Spells (9)
Seriously, you don’t want to sit around making 1/1s with Oketra, but the option is worth more than nothing. Besides, if you can just attack with Oketra, you’re already kind of doing it, and that’s to say nothing of +1/+1s from Nissa or Gideon or whatever.
While Oketra’s Attendant looks like a Draft card, I actually think it’s going to see a bit of fringe Constructed play. Perhaps we can play it in a deck with self-mill from cards like the various Lilianas.
While not the worst, this is probably too expensive of a way to try to interact with token strategies. Remember, they can typically get bigger pumps for less mana.
Regal Caracal is a tough one to find a home for. On the one hand, it’s got a great rate. On the other hand, it’s competing with cards like Archangel Avacyn, Angel of Sanctions, and Fumigate. Generally speaking, the card reminds me of Cloudgoat Ranger a little bit.
Who actually wants Regal Caracal more than Archangel Avacyn or Angel of Sanctions? Oh well, Cat tribal looks like fun.
Creatures (26)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (24)
Spells (6)
I mean, once you’re in the market for Cats…
Okay, we’re not that in the market for Cats; but it wouldn’t be completely embarrassing.
Is it a Cat? Is a Snake? Who can tell?
While it’s not quite the same thing, Prowling Serpopard has a little bit of Loxodon Smiter going on. Maybe we can take advantage of it as a four-power creature to wake up Rhonas the Indomitable?
Creatures (30)
Lands (24)
Spells (6)
Rhonas looks like the best of the new Gods, at least on the surface. A 5/5 indestructible creature is bananas for three, and this is a really easy quest to fulfil. It even has a very useful ability that happens to make Rhonas able to attack basically whenever. I’m going to keep working with Rhonas, but the card looks great to me.
Renewed Faith is discussed at length here, but the TL;DR: is that it can enable Faith of the Devoted decks or appear in small numbers as an added Torrential Gearhulk option or sideboard against red.
Draft only, buddy. Sorry.
Flashy, but ultimately fairly ineffective in Constructed, as it still dies to everything from Grasp of Darkness to Cast Out, Oath of Liliana to Commit//Memory.
Draft. At least until they print another Splinter Twin…
Just kidding, they make a lot of this card, and usually better.
Even if the condition were always true, the ceiling just isn’t high enough to hit “playable” in Constructed.
“Elite.”
An interesting vanilla, both in stats and creature type. Nevertheless, three is an awesome spot on the Zombies mana curve, so we’re not tempted for even a moment.
It’s just not enough better than Fatal Push or Grasp of Darkness to really entice us in a B/W Zombies deck. Maybe there’s a way to play it in a Bant Embalm deck? You’d have to have a lot of self-mill, and even then, I’m guessing you’re never going to actually be in the market for this.
Discussed at length here; but generally speaking, you’ve got to want a bunch of Cartouche/Trial stuff while also being a tokens deck.
This doesn’t look like an embarrassing package deal when you compare it to Call of the Herd. However, you do have to wait until the Initiate is killed to get the second creature, and a 3/2 with vigilance is actually a bit more awkward than a 3/3. Besides, at the end of the day, five to Embalm is a lot more than four to Flashback.
More of a Modern powerhouse (comboing with Devoted Druid, Kitchen Finks, Murderous Redcap, etc), in Standard, we might still be able to get enough mileage out of Vizier of Remedies if we’re playing lots of Channeler Initiates and Crocodile of the Crossing. Like, a lot of those types.
Anything cycling for one has some merit. An in-depth look at Winged Shepherd specifically can be found here. It’s good with cycling matters stuff, like Faith of the Devoted. It’s good with Corrupted Grafstone. It’s good with various Lilianas.
I’ve got a feeling we’re going to continue to see a lot of Mardu Vehicles this weekend at the Grand Prix Richmond Pro Tour Qualifier, but it looks like it should be time for the rise of various G/B decks with Ishkanah, Grafwidow or Winding Constrictor, as well as Thalia’s Lieutenant decks and even more Zombies. Torrential Gearhulk is going to be filthy at the Pro Tour, but I’m not sure many people feel comfortable with Gearhulk decks yet.
What are your plans this weekend at the GP Richmond PTQ? The Pro Tour is still a week away, so I’m still tuning Gearhulk Control; however, if it were right now, I think I’d play something along the lines of this:
Creatures (6)
Planeswalkers (10)
Lands (27)
Spells (17)