This is going to be a long one, so I’ll keep the introduction short. This is a first look at the Constructed quality of Betrayers of Kamigawa. Since my expertise is only in Standard, I’m going to leave Limited and Extended evaluations to other people. I’m also going to give a separate rating for a card’s Kamigawa Block Constructed worthiness, since that format is quite different from Standard.
Here’s how I rate cards:
5: Very powerful and/or a staple for decks
4: Above average, more powerful than other similar spells
3: Average and boring, might fill a niche in a deck
2: Below average, often strictly inferior to other cards
1: Chaff, or as Zvi likes to call it, a “skill tester”
Forget the small talk. Forget me trying to convince you that I’m the master of card evaluation. Let’s get down to business:
Day of Destiny
Block: 4
It’s twice as expensive as Crusade, but it also makes your guys twice as big, and White has quite a few Legends that cost less than four mana. Imagine the following four turns:
1. Plains, Isamaru, Hound of Konda
2. Plains, Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Attack for 2
3. Plains, Sensei Golden-Tail, Attack for 4
4. Plains, Day of Destiny, Attack for 12
5. Attack for 12
Doing 30 points of damage in five turns is pretty respectable. And there are other legends that fit the curve, like Kentaro, the Smiling Cat, Masako the Humorless, Brothers Yamizaki, and Isao, Enlightened Bushi.
Standard: 2
In Standard, there’s more enchantment removal and decks are faster (i.e. Affinity), so paying four mana for a super-Crusade isn’t as exciting.
Empty-Shrine Kannushi
Block: 2
Non-relevant creature types are a bad start. I suppose this could be sideboarded for the mirror match, but will the format come to that?
Standard: 1
There are better options, like 1/1 fliers.
Faithful Squire
Block: 3
The Squire is quite nice after it flips, but red decks can burn it before it gets two ki counters and black removal doesn’t care about damage being prevented.
Standard: 1
Don’t even dream that you have enough time to screw around with ki counters.
Final Judgment
Block: 4
A slow Wrath of God is still a Wrath. With Green mana acceleration, this could be playable. The Genju land enchantments have great synergy with Final Judgment, albeit it’s a synergy that your opponents might benefit from as well.
Standard: 1
Stick with the real Wrath.
Genju of the Fields
Block: 3
This Genju looks like the weakest of the bunch. Sure, it can stall out an aggressive deck with the big butt and life gain, but that sounds like something that a base-White control deck wants to do and I don’t see the necessary support cards to make that a viable archetype.
Standard: 1
Heart of Light
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Gaseous Form is back and it has changed colors! Somehow I doubt that gaining this mechanic is going to suddenly make White an awesomely powerful color.
Hokori, Dust Drinker
Block: 2
Standard: 2
It costs twice as much as Winter Orb and it’s much more fragile. Even if you could keep Hokori on the table, how would you break the symmetry? The necessary support cards don’t seem to be there.
Hundred-Talon Strike
Block: 4
This is pretty solid, assuming that most block decks will have numerous creatures. It’s a wonderfully cheap card to splice onto and it allows you to transform summoning sick creatures into extra points of damage.
Standard: 2
White Weenie faces stiffer competition and removal spells are more plentiful and of higher quality.
Indebted Samurai
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Grow-a-Samurai? I think not. Creatures that cost four mana and can only attack for two points are almost universally bad. The clunky ability doesn’t change that.
Kami of False Hope
Block: 3
Spore Frog has been reincarnated and it’s a little better than before thanks to its status as a Spirit. There might even be a way to generate infinite Fog, perhaps with the help of Soulless Revival.
Standard: 1
The new Fog Frog isn’t nearly as good in a format where decks can win by making you lose life or destroy all your lands with Sundering Titan plus Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
Kami of the Honored Dead
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Now you can really appreciate how spoiled you were with Exalted Angel.
Kami of the Tattered Shoji
Block: 1
Standard: 1
White is now known for its efficient small fliers, so to stay true to that theme I guess that Wizards R&D has to print crap like this.
Kentaro, the Smiling Cat
Block: 3
It fits in Samurai.dec, gets the bonus from Day of Destiny, beats for a respectable two points, and helps you filter mana for non-White Samurai. Nevertheless, this guy isn’t quite in the Samurai of the Pale Curtain or Eight-and-a-Half-Tails (shoe-in for most annoying Magic card to have to type) league.
Standard: 1
Since White Weenie has access to other high-quality two-drops, I doubt that Samurai-based decks will replace the current builds of White Weenie.
Kitsune Palliator
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Converted mana cost = 3
Power = 0
Likelihood of seeing any Constructed play = 0
Mending Hands
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Blessed Breath is a much better way to protect your creatures since it can be spliced, stops targeted black removal, and has offensive applications.
Moonlit Strider
Block: 3
The Strider might be okay in the right spiritcraft deck. Against an aggressive Black or Red deck, the Strider clogs the ground, protects your best creature, and recurs relevant threats (like Kami of Ancient Law, Soilshaper, Kami of the Hunt, or Thief of Hope). And White was a little short on quality Spirits in Champions of Kamigawa, so the Strider is a decent, if unspectacular, addition.
Standard: 1
Greater speed in the format and the inability to grant protection from artifacts hurts the Strider greatly.
Opal-Eye, Konda’s Yojimbo
Block: 3
Walls in general are not good. This wall, however, has a second ability that totally disrupts an opponent’s combat math. With such a fat butt and the ability to keep burn spells from singing your dome, Opal-Eye is a particular beating against Red mages. It’s also worth noting that as a Fox is can help power out Patron of the Kisune. Don’t let all this stuff make you forget that Opal-Eye is really just a fancy Wall.
Standard: 1
Everything in Standard can work around this guy. Ponza blows up lands. Affinity makes you lose life. Tooth and Nail has an 11/11 trampler and Duplicant. U/G Control has Vedalken Shackles and B/G can Rend Flesh or fire off a massive Death Cloud.
Oyobi, Who Split the Heavens
Block: 3
This guy gets style points for a cool name. If you untap with this guy in play you should just win. But seven mana is a hell of a lot, even when you have stuff like Kodama’s Reach. The difficulty in justifying this flashier finisher over something more reasonable like Hikari, Twilight Guardian or Yosei, the Morning Star keeps Oyobi stuck in average land.
Standard: 1
Seven mana.
Patron of the Kitsune
Block: 5
You’re looking at the new Exalted Angel. Now that I’ve got your attention…
The offering mechanic looks surprisingly strong. The most insane example is sacrificing one of your creatures to bring out a Patron in response to a removal spell. But there are many other subtle ways to abuse the Patrons, such as ambushing your opponent’s creatures when they think the red zone is totally clear. Plus, White has quite a few good Foxes that can help power out the Patron. Even if you don’t cast the Patron as an offering, this creature still looks good for six mana. The special ability is icing on the cake, combining very well with weenies hordes to ensure that your opponent will never win a damage race.
On the downside, this isn’t really Exalted Angel. It doesn’t fly and can’t start swinging on turn 4. Plus, unlike Onslaught block, the Kamigawa world includes troublesome Arcanes like Horobi’s Whisper and Consuming Vortex. These are devastating in terms of tempo and, if you went the offering route, card advantage. Even with these drawbacks, this Patron remains an excellent fattie.
Standard: 3
I don’t see how the Patron can solve White Weenie’s two biggest problems: Vedalken Shackles and Tooth and Nail.
Scour
Block: 3
With Day of Destiny, Hondens, and now the Genju cycle, I think that enchantments are going to eventually emerge as a force to be reckoned with in this block. None of these enchantments are very inexpensive (keeping in mind the Genju’s activation costs), so Scour offers a tempting permanent solution.
Standard: 1
Kamigawa block enchantments seem too slow or mana intensive for Standard. And the only popular enchantment right now is March of the Machines, so Scour is looking pretty shabby.
Shining Shoal
Block: 5
Standard: 5
Dampen Thought aside, decks need to win by dealing damage. Look at the casting cost; it’s just one more mana than Fireball. This is a White Fireball! It’s also card advantage. Glacial Ray about to kill one of your men? Send it back at one of your opponent’s creatures, going two-for-one.
The card is already looking really good, and we haven’t even gotten around to talking about the alternate mana cost. Free. That’s one of those special words in magic. Free is almost always very good. Rewind seemed innocuous when it was reprinted until it linked up with Cloudpost and Decree of Justice. Cloud of Faeries and Snap combine with Sapphire Medallion and Familiars to allow Mind’s Desire to kill as early as turn 3 in Extended.
Paying the alternate casting cost will almost never be a problem in terms of card advantage, since Shining Shoal is an arcane and you can splice something on to it very easily. Even if you don’t get fancy with splicing, the ability to redirect damage for free can give you a huge tempo boost, especially if you curve out with creatures on your first three turns.
Silverstorm Kitsune
Block: 1
Standard: 1
It’s like Patron of the Kitsune, only really bad.
Split Tail Miko
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Here’s the latest spin on Sammy (Samite Healer). Poor Sammy, he needs more help than this.
Takeno’s Cavalry
Block: 1
Standard: 1
This reminds me of Aven Flock, but the Flock was better.
Tallowisp
Block: 3
I can only think of three cards worth searching out in this format: Indomitable Will, Cage of Hands, and Threads of Disloyalty. Not very impressive. But Tallowisp’s status as a Spirit and its decent ability to block help make up for the limits of its ability. Tallowisp also provides a reusable shuffle effect that Sensei’s Divining Top has been looking for.
Standard: 3
You gain: Spirit Link, Pacifism, Arrest, Curiosity, and Domineer. So you have plenty of removal to search out and even a card drawing spell that gives you game against control decks. That’s better, but I doubt it’s enough to make Tallowisp.dec viable.
Terashi’s Grasp
Block: 1
I can’t think of any dangerous artifacts. And if you want to have game against Honden.dec, then Quiet Purity, Kami of Ancient Law, and Cleanfall are better options.
Standard: 4
White gets a much-needed replacement for Altar’s Light. Against Affinity, blowing up Frogmite or Myr Enforcer is huge, since you net a lots of life along the way. And having a faster answer to the dreaded Vedalken Shackles is also very important. Disenchant is still sorely missed, but this spell helps fill an important void.
Terashi’s Verdict
Block: 4
This is not what aggressive White decks want. It is, however, something that could fit quite nicely into a W/R or W/U arcane control deck. I have a feeling that these arcane decks will be very popular, operating similarly to the cycling decks of Onslaught block. Therefore, I have a pretty high opinion of this card.
Standard: 2
This card bombs against Affinity, Ironworks, and Tooth and Nail.
Ward of Piety
Block: 1
Standard: 1
This is first on a long list of horrible creature enchantments in this set, ensuring that Tallowisp has very few juicy targets.
Waxmane Baku
Block: 4
It’s a Spirit, which makes it qualify for all the spiritcraft strategies. And with numerous cheap ways to trigger this Baku, like Blessed Breath, Hundred-Talon Strike, and Kami of Ancient Law it can quickly become impossible for opponents to block. This creature gets especially ridiculous in multiples. This is reusable White evasion on a stick, another card with depth that gives this color some extra oomph.
Standard: 2
The time commitment necessary is a much greater problem when decks like Affinity exist. Still, this Spirit would be quite content tapping down Darksteel Colossus or Kokusho, the Evening Star.
Yomiji, Who Bars the Way
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Imagine a few things. You get Yomiji into play and manage to keep it there. If you find a way to cast another legend for free, one that does something cool when it comes into play, and you have a method of sacrificing said legend for free, then you can play the same legend over and over again to great effect. That’s a lot of ifs. The best card to combine with Yomiji is probably Mindslaver. Taking your opponent’s turns for the rest of the game is pretty strong. But Bringer of the White Dawn lets you do the same thing, and can be Tooth and Nailed out just as easily.
White in Review
White gets a respectable eight cards that look very good. What’s most impressive, though, is the depth represented by them. We’re not looking at redundant weenie creatures or tons of defensive cards. Each card does something unique, adding much-needed depth to the shallow color we saw in Champions of Kamigawa.
Block:
Day of Destiny
Final Judgment
Hundred-Talon Strike
Patron of the Kitsune
Shining Shoal
Terashi’s Verdict
Waxmane Baku
Constructed:
Shining Shoal
Terashi’s Grasp
Total Spells With Potential: 8
Green
Body of Jukai
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Way too expensive, unless there’s a way to cheat on the casting cost. There are some possibilities. Through the Breach gets the Body into play and has the bonus of returning something good to hand (perhaps Kokusho, the Evening Star). Lifespinner can also tutor out the Body.
Budoka Pupil
Block: 3
Kodama of the South Tree does this guy’s job much better. South Tree may cost one more mana but you get a 4/4 immediately and don’t have to wait around for two ki counters. I guess you could play the Pupil in addition to South Tree if you want to make your creature pumping redundant.
Standard: 1
Few, if any, decks in standard will give you the time to mess around with ki counters.
Child of Thorns
Block: 3
The creature type is the most important thing here. Green wants early Spirit drops to go with Soilshaper, Long-Forgotten Gohei, Kodama of the South Tree, and Unchecked Growth. The Child has to compete with Hana Kami, though, and I think the latter’s special ability is better.
Standard: 1
Keeping a large army in play is much more difficult, thanks to stuff like Wrath of God, Death Cloud, Arc-Slogger, and Oblivion Stone. Without help, the Child is extremely weak.
Enshrined Memories
Block: 4
Standard: 4
You have to compare it to Commune with Nature. If tempo and search are the most important factors, then Commune is better. On the other hand, if you have the necessary mana and time, Enshrined Memories digs deeper and can reap massive card advantage. To make this spell really good, you need a deck packed with cheap, efficient creatures. That might work, but the design constraints and mana intensity of this card keep it from getting a higher rating.
Forked-Branch Garami
Block: 4
Constructed: 4
If there are enough decent Spirits to soulshift back, then this card should be quite good. Let’s see what we have: Kodama of the South Tree, Rootrunner, Kami of the Hunt, Pain Kami, Thief of Hope, Zuberas, Hearth Kami, Kami of Ancient Law, Soilshaper, Hana Kami, Frostling, and Lantern Kami. There’s definitely some potential, especially with Soilshaper, Thief of Hope, and the South Tree. It also seems like there might be a way to set up a lock by recurring Rootrunner. But does Spiritcraft.dec need to get this cute or is it better off focusing on speed and tempo?
Genju of the Cedars
Block: 4
All of the Genju are very strong. They are immune to sorcery-speed removal, which doesn’t help much in block except against Befoul and Eradicate. They can start swinging on turn three and can be played as if they have haste once you have four lands. They’re spirits, so they benefit from stuff like Long-Forgotten Gohei and Unchecked Growth. And, barring enchantment removal, they keep coming back even if your opponent has removal spells, making them very strong against control.
On the downside, the Genju are very mana intensive. Attacking with them early may put you ahead of the damage race in the short-run but you pay the price in lost tempo. This tempo loss is even more painful, especially in the early game, if your opponent destroys the land that is attacking.
The Green Genju is good but not great. Thanks to its large butt, you don’t need to worry about burn spells hitting it early on. But Green has many other creature options that are more efficient in the long-run. It costs four mana total to cast the Genju and attack with it. For the same cost of less you can have Kami of the Hunt, Gnarled Mass, Rootrunner, and Kodama of the South Tree. And activating the Genju does not count as playing a Spirit, a trigger that green decks adore.
Standard: 1
Ponza exists. Enchantment removal is more plentiful. And the tempo loss of activating the Genju is rougher.
Gnarled Mass
Block: 4
This may be one of the best Green vanilla creatures ever printed. Three toughness is huge in this format, since it puts you just beyond Glacial Ray range. And there aren’t any other 3/3 creatures in the format without a drawback. Most importantly, it’s a Spirit, and you know what that means for Green decks.
Standard: 2
Vanilla creatures rarely make it in Standard and Gnarled Mass faces stiff competition from Troll Ascetic.
Harbinger of Spring
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Is this supposed to be tech versus Samurai.dec? Too bad at one toughness it rolls over to even the slightest bump from an arcane or Spirit. Thank goodness the casting cost is so reasonable!
Isao, Enlightened Bushi
Block: 4
Let’s start from the top. For three mana I expect three power or two power and a good ability. Bushido 2 is just a fancy way of giving a creature “smart opponents will rarely block.” Can’t be countered isn’t that exciting either, since there isn’t much counter magic in the format. Regenerating Samurai is decent if you the extra mana to spare. As a 2/1, Isao isn’t that great of a clock, since it comes out on turn three and you need to always keep regeneration mana open if your opponent has even the smallest of removal spells.
While you could add this guy to a white Samurai deck, you’d do it mainly for the regeneration ability. Rather than splash Green, White can protect its creatures without turning to off-color means with stuff like Blessed Breath or Candles’ Glow. I’ll reluctantly give this guy a 4, but I think it will be one of those chase rares that people overvalue until tournaments demonstrate that no one plays it for good reason.
Standard: 4
Here the uncounterable ability is more meaningful, since Mono-Blue Control and U/G Control are at large. However, one toughness remains a significant problem.
Iwamori of the Open Fist
Block: 3
In general, this guy will be terrible for obvious reasons. However, there will be some decks (most likely those based around arcane and splicing) that don’t run any legends and this will be a hell of a beating out of your sideboard. In addition, some decks, like White Weenie, may not run any fat enough Legends for the drawback to even matter.
Standard: 4
This will be even better in standard. Only B/G Control and R/G run any legends. That may change after Betrayers becomes legal, but there will definitely be fewer legends running around than in Kamigawa block.
Kodama of the Center Tree
Block: 1
Standard: 1
With four other Spirits in play, the Center Tree is a 5/5 that can Soulshift itself back to your hand. The key phrase is “with four other Spirits.” This card requires way too much of an investment before it becomes any good.
Lifegift
Block: 1
Maybe if there were some great way to transform life points into damage or additional cards I’d start to wonder if this card has potential.
Standard: 2
Three cards boost this enchantment slightly: Well of Lost Dreams, Phyrexian Arena, and Zur’s Weirding. Just imagine the synergy!
Lifespinner
Block: 3
Once again, we have to wonder if green should get fancy with its Spirits or just hit hard and fast. Sacrificing Zuberas or creatures with Soulshift makes the activation cost pretty painless. And you can make the sacrifices at instant speed once Lifespinner is active. There are even some juicy targets like: Kodama of the North Tree, Jugan, the Rising Star, and Body of Jukai. Nevertheless, getting out this target of choice represents a whopping investment of four creatures. When your opponent answers your new tutored-up threat with a single card you’ll be crying.
Standard: 1
Don’t even think about it. Two words: Affinity and counters.
Loam Dweller
Block: 3
Again, Green welcomes Spiritcraft triggers. This one is a bear and it also has excellent synergy with Soilshaper. You could also use it as an accelerator in a mana rich deck to make multiple land drops per turn and power out something really impressive, such as Myojin of the Cleansing Fire.
Standard: 1
Betrayers might give Spiritcraft the boost necessary to put it on the map, but it’s hard to believe that Loam Dweller could compete as an accelerator with Birds of Paradise.
Mark of Sakiko
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Here is the second in a long list of bad creature enchantments. If acceleration is your goal, why would you ever play this over Sakura-Tribe Elder or Kodama’s Reach?
Matsu-Tribe Sniper
Block: 1
Standard: 1
If 1/1 fliers suddenly become rampant, this guy could make a splash, but even then he’s really fragile.
Nourishing Shoal
Block: 1
Green gets saddled with the worst of the new pitch spells.
Standard: 1
Like Lifegift, there is some synergy with Well of Lost Dreams, Phyrexian Arena, and Zur’s Weirding. Good luck getting one of those combinations to work.
Patron of the Orochi
Block: 2
The White Patron is cheaper, but Green’s mana acceleration helps balance that out a little bit. Like White, Green has numerous quality Snakes that can help with the offering. But what do you do with this ability? Green could really use an expensive X spell to dump all that mana into. No, Nourishing Shoal isn’t going to cut it. What about Green creatures with awesome tap abilities? Can’t find much there either. Maybe I’m missing something, but I just can’t get excited about the untap ability. So you basically you have a 7/7 without evasion. That’s less than exciting.
Standard: 3
With Fireball and Tooth and Nail in the format, this Patron looks a little bit better. You also get the mighty Tangle Asp as an offering enabler. Better but not good enough.
Petalmane Baku
Block: 1
Standard: 1
I suppose this could go into a multi-color Spiritcraft deck to ensure that you have consistent mana, but I wouldn’t want to count on a little 1/2 sticking around once your opponent realizes that you need it.
Roar of Jukai
Block: 3
Standard: 3
Narrow but not bad-those are my first impressions. Against another creature deck, the Roar shines. Eventually your opponent has to block in order to stay alive and when he or she does the Roar ensures that your opponent’s side of the board will be devastated. Why not splice on Kodama’s Might or Glacial Ray for good measure? Or you can splice Roar for free onto something else. Giving your opponent five life should be pretty irrelevant when you’re wrecking his team.
Sakiko, Mother of Summer
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Let me get this straight. You invest a whopping six mana so that your unblocked creatures can provide mana acceleration. Does that sound a little odd to anyone else?
Sakura-Tribe Springcaller
Block: 3
If your deck is designed to power out huge spells, the Springcaller is a good fit, providing defense on the ground and a continuous mana boost. Still, there’s substantial competition in the four mana slot, including Kodama of the South Tree, Rootrunner, Kashi-Tribe Reaver, Order of the Sacred Bell, and Sosuke, Son of Seshiro.
Standard: 1
Once again, it’s a time problem. The Springcaller doesn’t do enough fast enough.
Scaled Hulk
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Grow-a-Spirit? Even if you get the Hulk into play and trigger its ability twice it still doesn’t have any evasion. If you’re going pay a lot of mana for a fattie, you should go with something that doesn’t need to be inflated, like Jugan, the Rising Star or Kodama of the North Tree.
Shizuko, Caller of Autumn
Block: 3
It’s really rough that your opponent gets to use the extra mana before you do. Nevertheless, if Shizuko sticks around and allows you to unload bigger bombs than your opponent does, you should be fine. As a Snake it’s a relevant creature type and provided that your deck is designed to maximize the GGG bonus you should be able to break the symmetry. It’s not a strategy for the faint of heart, but it might work.
Standard: 1
While Affinity probably won’t even have something productive to do with the extra GGG, since it empties its hand so quickly, powering up your opponent’s Death Cloud or Tooth and Nail is going to put you in an accelerated world of hurt.
Sosuke’s Summons
Block: 5
Anyone remember Call of the Herd? This looks pretty similar. While it doesn’t put as much power on the board, it generates a greater number of creatures and a single copy can be cast more than two times. Plus, green has quite a few quality Snakes, including the mighty Sakura-Tribe Elder. And, if you can find a way to grant all Snakes a bonus, the tokens can rival those 3/3 Elephants we fondly remember. The extra tokens also promise to be a fantastic combination with the new Ninjas, ensuring that unblocked creatures will get through the red zone. This is one of the best cards in the set and it single-handedly makes Snake.dec or G/U Ninjas tempting possibilities.
Standard: 3
You gain Tangle Asp as a recursion method, but Snake.dec looks more fragile in this diverse environment. Plus, Sosuke’s Summons has to compete with Beacon of Creation.
Splinter
Block: 1
Can you think of any frightening artifacts in the format? I thought not. Even if some did appear, Wear Away costs half as much and can be used multiple times.
Standard: 3
In the wake of Mirrodin block, it’s not surprisingly that this card is better here. While it’s a slow answer to Affinity, it ensures that you’ll never face a Cranial Plating or Myr Enforcer for the rest of the game (Ravager and Atog sacrificing aside), and Myr Retriever won’t be able to change that. Against Tooth and Nail, Splinter truly kills the “unstoppable” Darksteel Colossus. And if you can manage to target Platinum Angel you don’t need to worry about Eternal Witness bringing it back. Similarly, one Splinter resolved (admittedly a challenge) against U/G Control means that you’ll never face Vedalken Shackles again. Nevertheless, Splinter faces stiff competition versus Oxidize, Tel-Jilad Justice, and Viridian Shaman.
Traproot Kami
Block: 1
Standard: 1
Whoopee! A wall that is really vulnerable the first few turns and has zero ability to kill blocked creatures.
Unchecked Growth
Block: 4
Here’s another piece for the base green Spiritcraft deck and a fine companion for Kodama’s Might. But do you need Kodama’s Might, Kodama of the South Tree, and this?
Standard: 3
Giant Growth does almost as much and is a hell of a bargain, comparatively. What it doesn’t do, though, is act as a Spirit trigger or splice target. It’s hard to guess how good the Spiritcraft deck will be in Standard, but my hunch is that Unchecked Growth is a little too expensive to make the cut.
Uproot
Block: 1
Fallow is back and it’s more expensive than ever.
Standard: 1
You have better things to do, like Reap and Sow or Plow Under.
Vital Surge
Block: 1
Standard: 1
I suppose this could act like Pulse of the Fields for an arcane deck, but Green doesn’t have the controlling support spells for this to seem like a viable strategy.
Green in Review
Compared to White, Green gets just as many new quality spells. But note the incredible lack of depth here. Six out of the eight spells are creatures. Then you get a combat trick (which Green isn’t exactly lacking) and a card drawing spell (something fresh at last) that works best in a creature-heavy deck (or maybe not).
Block:
Enshrined Memories
Forked-Branch Garami
Genju of the Cedars
Gnarled Mass
Isao, Enlightened Bushi
Sosuke’s Summons
Unchecked Growth
Constructed:
Enshrined Memories
Forked-Branch Garami
Isao, Enlightened Bushi
Iwamori of the Open Fist
Total Spells With Potential: 8
For the next installment, I’ll move onto Fire and Ice, my two favorite colors. Then I’ll finish up with Black and everything else.
Thanks for reading and take it easy,
–Rick
rick at rickrust dot com