Man, someone upstairs really screwed up with Conflux. I can’t remember the last time we had a complete spoiler a full week before the prerelease. I knew something was up when we got a hold of a list of all the card names in Conflux before Shards was even fully spoiled, but damn, having a full set to look over two FNMs before it’s even prereleased is such a dirty tease. It’s always mostly up, and the last of it comes up in huge chunks that are hard to follow, which forces you to read and re-read the spoiler over and over again.
But nope, not this time. Our dear friends at MTGSalvation can take the week off from spoiling while we salivate over such savory spells.
But before I look at my list of Constructed-worthy cards, I need to give a huge shout out to Kent Ketter and Greg Peloquin, who found the one-thousand dollar deck I buffoonishly left in the restroom at Grand Prix: LA! Kent was playing with Greg’s cards for the tournament, and found the deck when he glanced down to unzip his fly and unleash the dragon. He doesn’t have cards of his own, so he straight up gave the deck to Greg, who sent me a private message after reading my report.
Thanks, guys! It definitely perks up a shoddy start to 2009.
Man, I’m such a lucky bastard. It really makes me want to do something to help the community… There should be some kind of forum to help those who lose valuable items at big events, although I’m not sure just how practical it would be. I mean, odds are you didn’t lose it in a foolish act like me, and the odds of you having someone decent and honest enough to actually return it is a pretty long shot.
Man, I’m such a lucky bastard.
I’m not really looking to clog up my neat article with a bunch of card text, so run over to MTGSalvation.com and click on the “Full Conflux Spoiler 145/145″ link to follow along with me.
White
This is a really interesting card, but really just a marginal sideboard in the grand scheme of things. White has a surprising amount of removal right now, and I doubt it will ever need to go this deep to compensate against Red and Black decks. It does have nice utility opposite Unearth cards, but so does Condemn, Oblivion Ring, and the new Swords: Path to Exile. Being able to blow up other types of permanents like Ajani or Liliana is nice, but I’d probably just rather have Oblivion Ring against the two colors that can’t destroy it.
One mana 2/2 artifact creature. This guy is solid and clearly a great one-drop alongside Akrasan Squire if there’s a viable Esper aggro deck out there. This guy could even see some Extended play, but still can’t measure up to a Frogmite and likely requires some mana adjustments.
I like the fact that Basic landcycling is back, although not that is costs colored mana to cycle. I like the fact they made expensive spells coupled with Basic landcycling, although don’t like how crappy they made all of them. Where’s the balance?
This is pretty revolutionary. White just got Memory Lapse! There are all sorts of discussions going on about this little gem currently, but most important is how it will affect the smaller ranged formats in which it’s allowed. Remand’s unique ability on the tempo of a game has dominated in all major Constructed formats, and this card is as close as I think we’ll see in awhile.
It can be splashed in nearly any deck, but what decks want to play it? The fact is that it’s not Remand, it costs one more, and you clearly don’t draw a card so you have to look at the mana costs of the format you’re playing in to approximate its value.
For Standard, it can be played in almost any deck given the Reflecting Pool manabases and many fixers, so that limits us to aggro, control, or combo. An aggro deck has the most appealing usage, being able to hold off a Wrath of God, Cryptic Command, or Cruel Ultimatum to keep the Kithkin bashing, which complements the curve, assuming you lead with creatures on the first couple of turns. That’s pretty attractive… however, I believe there are too many better spells out there for control decks to bother with a three-mana “do-nothing.”
Combo, however – if one ever decides to perk its slimy head – would also be a fond advocate of the new Lapse, and is even in the color of two notorious combo centerpieces: Swans of Bryn Argoll and Reveillark.
But one really can’t be certain how certified Certainty will be.
This thing is just bonkers, and much better than Swords to Plowshares (barring it isn’t used in the first three of four turns and the opponent isn’t mana screwed). I don’t really care about my opponent having five mana on turn 4 or six mana on turn 5; both don’t ensue much more powerful plays in the majority of decks out there. Plus, the opponent might not even have a basic land to retrieve with our current nonbasic nature, although the introduction of this card will surely enforce everyone to play a minimum of three basic lands from now on.
Three basic land is a safe number; it accounts for two or three of their Path to Exiles while ensuring that, if you draw one or two, you’ll still have a third to find.
Path also invalidates Kitchen Finks as a powerful Standard mainstay. Magma Spray is pretty brutal to play against, but now everyone has good one-mana answers to Finks.
Path and Lapse are studs, but this is the card that leads me to believe some sort of White-based control deck should be able to put some up some numbers. This is a three-mana Icy Manipulator, and really increases Tezzeret’s utility by being a cheap powerful Artifact to search for.
Ugggh, Planeshifted Wall of Wood!
A 1/6 for four honestly isn’t that bad, but the life gain ability is uniquely awful.
Blue
Cards like this are always interesting to me. Clearly out of nature for the color, but it’s still a less color intensive Hell’s Thunder, and with a bargain on the rebuy.
This card has serious potential. There will be some Standard matches where this thing will be utterly dead, so I’d say it’d be best served as a solid sideboard contributor. Alongside Sculpting Steel in some wacky Tezzeret deck, this thing could be rat poison to the rebellious Kithkin or Fae.
Three toughness creatures are bunk, and this fish is an artifact on top of it?
*Vomit*
But hey, I’m sure you’ll be glad to play against this round 2 of FNM, or in the Top 8 at Regionals.
To me, this card was just poorly designed. These Esper cards need a little more resilience to them, as they’re all too small, cost too much, and this one even has another drawback to return an artifact every upkeep. But hey, then we’d be back in the dark ages when Mirrodin block ran the show.
Boo, sorcery speed Faeries are so disgusting.
Inkwell Levianthan
He costs a lot less mana with the next card…
This guy looks like a lot of fun. Note that returning the artifact is a part of the ability’s cost, meaning you can play the same artifact you bounce. Neat, since this guy can hold off an incoming critter, chump, and still be around to keep next turn shenanigans open. I’d really like to see a full list of every Artifact in Standard, as this guy could be a lot better than many would initially give him credit for.
Even if it is a three mana 2/2 flier, that’s a helluva comes-into-play ability. If only there were cards in this set that let you return artifacts back to your hand…
This one really isn’t that bad, and an option I’d love to have in a slow control-on-control match. Not as efficient as Jace, but certainly less fragile and tutorable.
Mill Deck Melvin just got another weapon in his arsenal of library-ripping strategies.
This is the kind of card I like to have as a random one-of that fills both a land slot while being a viable option later in the game. Not efficient enough to be run in multiples, but multiples do have a clear synergy since land cycling helps achieve the casting cost on this over-costed coaster.
Given the lack of good deck manipulation in Standard, it’s entirely possible that this card could be the best Blue card in Conflux. Being able to dig three, four, or five at instant speed is a massive effect when considering the lack of speed in the other card drawing available. The whole basic land thing sucks a lot, but Prismatic Omen isn’t looking so bad, and that double-search Artifact is pretty neat. Some kind of Domain deck is entirely possible, and this is going to be the glue that holds the deck together.
Black
Nyxthid
This is a hard one to evaluate, because the opponent’s hand size is going to be different depending on the deck you’re playing at different stages in the game. If they have three cards, you have a 4/4 for three mana. Solid, but not exciting. At two cards he gets considerably bigger when measuring the number of cards that can take it out one-for-one now, which means they really need to have two cards for this to be worthwhile.
If they know you have Nyxthid, it’s just game over, since they should be able to stockpile a hand before they start playing. There is a decent chunk of Black discard that bears mentioning as well; with Sculler and Thoughtseize on the market – and even Esper Charm has potential – this creature starts to gain more and more value. He doesn’t need to be big early against control, since you will be able to lean on the discard to contain them, and he’ll be big enough opposite basic aggro decks since their hands wither away quickly.
This guy looks pretty cool, and he can even trigger Prowl. This guy seems like he’d be a beast in the Extended Affinity since, alongside Ravager, each sacrifice will effectively be +2 power. Plus, with Path to Exile being superb against Affinity they may be hungry for a few extra cheap beaters.
There’s a lot of quality discard in Standard right now, and this thing is just a little under par. The main difference that sets this discard spell apart from others is that it gives the opponent an immediate incentive to play out all his spells, which can result in a game-winning or game-losing situation. My problem with Fugue is that it takes another card to make it work, most usually some line of defense to make up for the fact I’m spending mana to have no immediate effect on the board.
Red
My eyes popped out cartoon style when I saw this beauty. I’m still speechless.
The implications of the printing of this card are yet to be had… hell, we don’t even know if its text will stay as is…. but man oh man, if it does…!
I remember a day when Kaervek’s Torch was the bomb. I remember when Urza’s Rage was the bomb. I remember when Demonfire was the bomb. Every time a card like this comes into a format, it becomes literally “the bomb.”
Given the current prismatic tendencies, every deck will have access to “I Win.” That’s a pretty big black cloud to forecast on the horizon, and it could become quite the bane of the format.
This guy is pretty good. There aren’t very many attractive B/G hybrid creatures other than Doran, and just like the last Ooze, they just feel like they take too much for something marginal. Why would you pay one mana and two turns for a 5/5 when you can just pay three or four mana and save your conditional turns?
This could probably be in the Extended burn deck, and combined with Hell’s Thunder could make a decent attempt at a Standard appearance in the same type of deck.
I like this one a lot, but it falls into the same non-versatile, color hosing card that can only make scattered appearances in sideboards. There are certainly a lot of those this set, and most of them just don’t bring enough to the table. This one though could be a great way to two for one an unprepared Kithkin or Merfolk opponent. Other than that… not much.
Ha, this one is just brutal. It’s straight up six damage to people not playing Blue, but on top of that, against the UW players, it forces them to spend a mana on their fourth turn, which gives you another attack phase around Wrath of God and keeps them from using Cryptic Command. Very unique and interesting design.
Yet another in a long line of Pyroclasm-like spells. Other than the Fae matchup, there’s no reason to play this over Firespout. I’m not that excited about it, and I’m sure Faeries aren’t that worried about it. Faeries just has too many options, and if this card really does shut them down they can always add more Vendilion Clique and Thoughtseize.
This is what I’ve wanted to see out of Devour, an immediate comes-into-play ability worthy of sacrificing an army. Probably a decent option for any Goblin fanatics out there.
Not a good option for those Goblin fanatics out there.
Five mana for a 4/4 flier from the graveyard is pretty awesome. But with so many unfriendly remove effects that will likely see play, this bird will have to wait until things settle down.
Green
This is just what the doctor ordered. A large hasty lifelinked dude, but, like all the other colored “permanent necessary” creatures in this set, he’s a complete waste of a card on his own. I’m not sure how I feel about these cards… they are the type that are hard to theorize, because there is such a wide range of usefulness that mean it can be the best or worst card for you, and thus it has little consistency.
This is the kind of spell we need to hose Bitterblossom. It’s instant, replaces itself, and destroys the most powerful card in the Faerie arsenal. It also has a fair amount of value, since it’s an awesome attrition card to take out Shackles or Jitte opposite the Extended Faerie force.
This reminds me of Caller of the Claw. It’s clearly much worse, but with a far better name.
I’m gonna go ahead and shotgun Team Gluttonous Slime too. There are all kinds of yahoos running around putting “Team
More importantly, I don’t want a solid card name like Gluttonous Slime fall victim to the same fate as many of its cardboard comrades.
This is one of those cards that people think will change everything, but in the end it just makes the many Wrath effects better. This card is obviously powerful, and a clear upgrade from Birds of Paradise in many decks, and will likely become a staple rare from this set for years to come.
The design team sure is getting their point across, giving us a variety of Faerie hosiers from which to pick and choose.
I’m not sure where I would play this yet, but this is a card I’ve been thinking about a fair bit recently. This is a Green Tidings, which scares me because it makes me want to play big cumbersome creatures to pair it with. Chameleon Colossus, Mycoloth… I’m not sure that Standard has the big creatures necessary, but it’s cleverly designed to stay away from any Treefolk decks where it could have done some serious damage.
I was trying to think of a way to bash this new Morphling, but the fact that it can become indestructible makes it the most durable Morphling variant ever. This thing is an offensive beast, being a 7/1 trampler that is conveniently indestructible as well. And it’s also an Elemental?!? There might be something in this big dumb creature…
Gold
Sadly, if I’m tapping seven mana for something, I’m going to be playing Cruel Ultimatum.
If nothing less, this will be a great Faerie sideboard card for Five-Color Control decks and the mirror.
If this didn’t have the “player” clause and could target creatures, I’d be much more willing to play this. I’m just not sure four mana is worth a land and four or five damage.
This gobbo gets my pick for best Outlander in the set. Pro Red is nice, but we already have Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender and Paladin En-Vec. This is the only complement we have to Stillmoon Cavalier, which are the prime anti-Path to Exile picks.
Jeez-us. This creature could go nuts in Extended. Not only do you get a huge fatty in a format where Loam engines run rampant, but you also have a built in Crop Rotation, which also makes the Knight bigger. I’m not sure that Standard has the cards to support him, or even if he’s strong enough in Extended, but this is one of the brighter stars.
In Standard, slapping him alongside Wilt-Leif Liege is the first step to creating a monster, but the fact that he’s a source of land selection, leading to a stream of Treetop Villages, Mutavaults, Sapseep Forests, and Forbidding Watchtowers. Is that powerful enough to make an impact in Standard? I think so, and Green/White has a surplus of attractive creatures with which to surround him.
There are quite a few WUBRG spells going around right now. Horde of Notions is still the best, but this one is a close second. Being able to cast a free Cruel Ultimatum is pretty enticing, but getting this Angel into play is another issue. This would be a great addition to the Domain deck, if one exists, and being able to pump out free Exploding Borders smells saucy.
Discard this guy early and Sharuum him back into play on turn 5? One-turn clock? Sharuum was a legit Dragon when I looked at it last time, it was just missing some other pieces of paper to play with, and Magister Sphinx is the most attractive by far.
He’s a good Beast to have on defense, but he’s still a six mana creature with no way to protect itself.
Wow! Better than Nantuko Husk, but more importantly it gives that deck more quality sacrifice outlets. Since the counters stay it makes Soul’s Majesty somewhat attractive, and it might even give the deck a combo feel since you’d be able to draw nearly half the deck at a time.
Another Hell’s Thunder. Unearth is a pretty powerful mechanic, and it’s pretty sad that all they put it on is generic creatures. It feels like they just printed the same card over and over again, and none of them are as good as the original.
This card should see some play. I wish they would have made it a 2/4 or 2/5 to trigger Reveillark, but it’s pretty solid on its own. There is a toolbox of artifacts available right now, and a 3/3 flyer for five is sizable enough to put a dent in the damage race. Plus, with multiple Etherium Sculpter and Mind Stone, this card can get out there pretty quickly, and it might be a good tutor for some sort of Artifact combo deck. Chaining Sculping Steel is one option that, when paired with Sculpters, could be pretty quick and lethal.
Artifact
If the Domain deck does come around, this will be the fixer supreme. I see no reason why a Domain deck wouldn’t work, as there are plenty of multicolor powerful spells between Shards and Lorwyn blocks, so I expect this jewel to see quite a bit of play. I’m gonna try and pick up a foil playset before people realize how good this thing is.
There are a handful of cards this set that really made me think. The design on this set is superb, and it has a plethora of cards that make you step back and think “huh, this is pretty neat.”
Unfortunately, most of those cards are not good enough to hack it in the competitive world, but hey, Font is still pretty neat, and we’ve seen Howling Mine effects in effect on the Sunday stage before.
What do you get when you slap a bunch of marginal abilities on to one card? A bunch of marginal abilities, and this is another pretty neat one. It’s removal, card selection, and life gain. The problem is that those aren’t necessarily going to be key points in a fair amount of matchups, but I could definitely see several situations where gaining five every turn to stay out of Banefire range would be crucial. For one more mana, you can cast Cruel Ultimatum…
Land
I never thought I’d see this card. And at uncommon, no less? I’ve always been a fan of creature-heavy decks that play the control game, and this card enables those types of decks far more than any card before it.
This card sucks and won’t see play. Far too random to give consistent mana fixing.
At common, I like this card a lot… but I doubt it will see any play outside of the Limited arena.
…
That’s it for Conflux.
I know a lot of the future behind these cards is yet to be determined, but I’ve always felt it a good practice to do a rundown of the spoilers in my mind, much like how I presented this article, finding the big players and theorizing about their potential future roles.
As for the future of Standard, I don’t see much changing. There are a few flashy spells that could heat things up, but the Blue decks are still far too resilient right now. This set isn’t going to be Shards of Alara in terms of power, but it makes a nice balanced pair for Limited purposes.
I’d expect the Red decks to get a serious boost with Banefire, but the control decks have the best removal spells we’ve had since Shriekmaw. The aggro decks also have the best removal spell since Shriekmaw. I don’t see any card being more impacting than Path to Exile, but it’s not the type of card that will warp the format we’re playing, unlike Shriekmaw, Flametongue Kavu, or Swords to Plowshares. Very well designed and thought out, it might be the best removal spell in the history of Magic.
Some trends I expect to see:
– Reveillark will make yet another comeback.
– A deck with four Cryptic Command will still be the best.
– Domain and Esper Artifact decks could finally make their way to the lower tier.
– Some Red deck will come out of the gates early and dominate until people figure out how to beat it.
– LSV will win another GP, PT, or Nationals, if not all three in a row. Trifecta!
Thanks for reading,
Kyle
…
Top 5 Conflux Standard Picks
1) Path to Exile
2) Banefire
3) Noble Hierarch
4) Lapse of Certainty
5) Armillary Sphere
Top 5 Conflux Extended Picks
1) Path to Exile
2) Ancient Ziggurat
3) Knight of the Reliquary
4) Noble Hierarch
5) Salvage Slasher
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