The colored cards are done (white,blue + black, and red + green). Now let’s take a look at what
the colorless cards have to offer in Battle for Zendikar.
Common
Just take a second here and notice the trend.
Scale.
The Eldrazi are huge. As in Ruin Processor’s 7/8 is bigger than every other common and uncommon creature that isn’t an Eldrazi. I can see either of the big
Eldrazi being a reasonably high pick if you are a color that supports ramping to those numbers. Again, these are unique in the payoff they provide.
Kozilek’s Channeler seems like the real deal regardless of color though. Durkwood Boars is always a fine Limited size, and this is a rare format where the
mana boost past five actually matters.
Of course, you don’t necessarily have to be super rampy to get to seven or eight mana. Between these and awaken, there is a big incentive to have extra
mana laying around, not to mention landfall (more on this later). Eighteen lands will likely be the norm, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see decks pushing to
nineteen with how good the non-basics are in this set. As for 20-22…. there isn’t a Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle to draft around this time so I doubt it.
The non-creature colorless cards are a bit more mediocre. Removal might be getting worse, but Scour from Existence is still mediocre on that scale. Hedron
Blade is well past mediocre for a number of reasons: super conditional bonus trigger, costs two to equip, and +1/+1 is rarely worth a card to begin with.
Uncommon
Somehow the uncommons are mostly smaller than the commons? How does that make sense?
Despite the size differential, all of the uncommon Eldrazi creatures seem acceptable at the least. Deathless Behemoth is a fine rate even if the Eldrazi
Scion ability seems like it will almost never come up. The reverse is true of Ulamog’s Despoiler: It’s pretty mediocre unless you have the Processor
trigger, but when you do, it’s great. I have no idea how common being able to Process two cards is, so I’ll hold my evaluation on this card until then.
Bane of Bala Ged is a bit fragile, but there’s good reason for that. Annihilator was miserable, and even losing the first two permanents in a mana hungry
format is pretty devastating. At seven mana, this card seems reasonably priced for attacking once and getting a three-for-one or better.
Breaker of Armies seems great. You play it and your opponent can either lose all of their best creatures when it attacks or chump attack into it. If they
chump attack, you can just not attack and force the same decision the next turn.
Titan’s Presence is odd considering how the Dragon reveal cards were managed just two sets ago. The fact that you have to decide between sandbagging your
giant creature or holding your removal spell is a bit awkward. Also note the “less than,” so your Eldrazi Devastator doesn’t kill theirs or more
importantly, most of the small Eldrazi don’t do anything relevant with this card.
Hedron Archive is insane. I’ve been saying this a bunch for Constructed, but it’s the same in draft. To paraphrase a comment made on one of my previous
articles, it’s Thran Dynamo that draws cards. Pilgrim’s Eye is also solid in this format, especially as a converge enabler, but not quite on the same
level.
The equipment are both cards I would consider in the 21st-24th playable range, which means a bit less in this format as you are likely to only be playing
22 spells. Pathway Arrows is probably a card a lot of people will dismiss as trash, but in the end I think it will be reasonable depending on matchup. It’s
a little too expensive to chain equip Viridian Longbow style to take down a medium-sized creature, but being able to tap down Eldrazi is definitely
valuable. Slab Hammer does set up some powerful lategame engines with the common land cycle, but bouncing a land any earlier than about turn 6 is pretty
crippling in this format, so the card does nothing early.
Rare
Great:
Good:
Okay:
Unknown:
The powerful cards here should be pretty obvious. Good rates on creatures are good. The only one I have as a slam dunk first pick is Oblivion Sower as it
A) has the best rate and B) really enables Processors, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Conduit of Ruin ends up being similarly awesome by letting you chain
Eldrazi. Moving past the obvious good creatures we have “basically Smite the Monstrous” Aligned Hedron Grid and cards that cost more than eight.
I remember Kozilek, Butcher of Truth being absurd in Rise of the Eldrazi Limited and that ten mana was a reasonable number to hit. The mana
situation in this set seems similar, so I’m assuming that Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is great and that Desolation Twin isn’t far behind. I have no idea
if Void Winnower is just another big idiot or actually great though. At the least it probably isn’t worse than Eldrazi Devastator thanks to the conditional
evasion for your entire team, so “Unknown” here is just a debate between “Good” and “Great.”
The card I’m absolutely unsure of is Gruesome Slaughter. I think it’s probably good, as the ability is granted to awakened lands, but it’s really deck
dependent. For example, there’s a single common white “creature” that can be tapped for it (awakened Sheer Drop). Blue has seven devoid creatures and two
awaken spells.
Colorless Takeaway
Eldrazi are huge. Like bigger than the rest of everything else. They are also costed to move. You need a real gameplan regarding them. Either go bigger in
the mirror, go wide around them, go under them, or have answers and save them.
Lands
Common
Uncommon
Rare
I’m not going to break these down further like I would other spells, as I can’t possibly imagine first picking any of them. They will just kinda be in the
packs sometimes.
A lot of the common lands are reasonable “splash” 18th lands. Unlike original Zendikar, there aren’t as many stringent color requirements early
(Vampire Nighthawk), hitting your mana or dying (Steppe Lynx), or cards that count land types (Mind Sludge), so you don’t need to be 11-7 on your mana like
that format. These lands are also more powerful than their Zendikar equivalents: just compare Sandstone Bridge or Looming Spires to Turntimber
Grove. Having a virtual colorless land that is a partial spell is pretty nice, and I can easily see any of the five common lands making the cut. Of course
it’s more likely that someone with an on-color interest takes the land first, but if you see one super late without a relevant playable, feel free to snap
it up.
Of course, if you have an on-color uncommon land, that is almost surely better. These lands are clearly pushed for Constructed, which means they are going
to be very powerful in Limited. Draw two cards? Lands that kill creatures? Three Eldrazi Scion tokens for any color? Jeez. These might be high picks,
though I’m guessing the best colored spells are better.
There is one common or uncommon fixer. Splashing and getting value past two on converge are going to be rough if you aren’t playing green. The rare fixing
is fine, but again it’s rare. Lumbering Falls and Shambling Vent are great but only if you are that color. You aren’t splashing for them, and if you splash
off of them, you then are trying to draw your second splash source to activate them when the body they provide is really outclassed going late.
The non-dual rare options are a mixed bag. I’m not going to play Shrine of the Forgotten Gods over any actual spell land. I might play Ally Encampment if I
have one of the 2-3 Allies that has a huge effect like +2/+2 or indestructible. Sanctum of Ugin is kinda conditional, as you have to draw it before playing
your big Eldrazi, but if you do trigger it, the card seems great as you can find smaller Eldrazi even if you don’t have another whammy.
Land Takeaway
The lands are more spell-land hybrids designed to let you play more lands, less fixing to let you play more colors. As a result, converge is a very green
mechanic that doesn’t bridge well outside the color.
Eighteen lands in this format plays a lot like seventeen in a normal format in terms of flooding, if not more like seventeen with a couple spell lands
would.