{From Right Field is a column for Magic players on a budget or players who don’t want to play netdecks. The decks are designed to let the budget-conscious player be competitive in local, Saturday tournaments. They are not decks that will qualify a player for The Pro Tour. As such, the decks written about in this column are, almost by necessity, rogue decks. They contain, at most, eight to twelve rares. When they do contain rares, those cards will either be cheap rares or staples of which new players should be trying to collect a set of four, such as Wildfire, Llanowar Wastes, or Birds of Paradise. The decks are also tested by the author, who isn’t very good at playing Magic. His playtest partners, however, are excellent. He will never claim that a deck has an 85% winning percentage against the entire field. He will also let you know when the decks are just plain lousy. Readers should never consider these decks “set in stone” or “done.” If you think you can change some cards to make them better, well, you probably can, and the author encourages you to do so.}
I don’t normally do set reviews. When I say “normally” I mean that the last one was the first thing I ever did for StarCityGames.com: Onslaught. Or I might have done one since then, but don’t remember it because of the drugs. Whatever. I don’t think that I can add anything to the discussion about a card in the abstract. For example, had I told you that Umezawa’s Jitte stunk, would you have forgotten about trying to get four of them? On the flip side, if I’d said that Horizon Steed was the Best White Card Ever, would you have horded them? Of course not… twice. However, people have been clamoring for my opinions on sets for quite a while. Things came to a head when I got this e-mail from Our Esteemed Editor, Craig “Union Jack” Stevenson:
Dear Romeo,
Blimey, mate. It’s bloody well time for you to toss off the fish and chips and give us a little set review. If you can the dish on this set, you’ll be buggered.
Pip, Pip, and Cheerio,
Craig
This may not be exactly what he wrote. He may not have even been the person who wrote it. It sounded enough like Austin Powers, though, that I believed it. Either way, it was time that I put my own spin on the whole “look at the new cards” thing. Hey, I was right about The Patriots not winning The Super Bowl this year. I could be right about some cards, too. Because I love you guys so much, I’m not going to be cheesy and do this in six parts. Because I love you, you get all of Guildpact at once. You’re welcome.
Absolver Thrull
Romeo’s Take: A Thrull Cleric? That’s as ridiculous of a combination as Ah-nold being elected governor of the country’s biggest state and then being asked to stop executions. Seriously, does no one other than me think it borders on surreal that The Terminator is now being asked for clemency in death penalty cases? WWCD? (“What would Conan do?”) While, I could see this card being used in an Extended Cleric deck, he’s strictly sideboard stuff in Standard. Still could be a great sideboard card.
Abyssal Nocturnus
Romeo’s Take: As long as you can keep your opponent discarding and keep Black and/or Artifact creatures off of the board, this guy’s golden. Feh.
Aetherplasm
Romeo’s Take: I’m tired of over-costed Blue guys with some ridiculous ability. Interestingly, this isn’t one of the bad ones. Sure, for four mana, you could get, I dunno, Shimmering Glasskite. Think about this, though: for four mana, you can drop Autochthon Wurm into play blocking some 4/4 Beast or whatever. The ‘Plasm just needs to survive long enough to block.
Agent of Masks
Romeo’s Take: I’m so glad this is uncommon. I’d hate to get eighteen of him because he’s in the common slot, and I surely don’t want him taking up a rare slot.
Angel of Despair
Romeo’s Take: If you need Chris Romeo to tell you how good this is, you really need to stop playing Magic.
Battering Wurm
Romeo’s Take: I’m gonna presume, for the purposes of this take, that damage was dealt to the opponent because, really, who’s gonna pay seven mana for a 4/3? Even a 5/4 for seven mana’s not great. However, he won’t get chump blocked, that’s for sure. Still, I probably wouldn’t play him, and that really is saying something.
Beastmaster’s Magemark
Romeo’s Take: The best thing about this card is its name. Isn’t that a whiskey of some sort?
Belfry Spirit
Romeo’s Take: No. No. Bad card. No.
Benediction of Moons
Romeo’s Take: Let’s say you’re playing a multi-player game with eighty-nine other players. This card still bites.
Bioplasm
Romeo’s Take: Magic is littered with 4/4 Green guys for five mana. Some have nice abilities, like Bioplasm. Imagine flipping over, say, another Bioplasm with this. Pretty cool, no? What? The card is removed from the game? Oh. Forget it, then.
Blind Hunter
Romeo’s Take: Highway Robber with wings? Twice? Sweet!
Bloodscale Prowler
Romeo’s Take: Very solid. Unless you’re building your Red deck incorrectly (i.e. no burn spells), this guy’s set to come into play as a 4/2 for three mana. You know, I’d even pay an extra mana to have it deal four damage to another creature when in came into play.
Borborygmos
Romeo’s Take: You know, with the mana acceleration available to Green and Red, I think this guy can come out on, like, turn 2. That would be awesome. Even if he comes out later, he’s going to make your li’l army quit happy.
Burning-Tree Bloodscale
Romeo’s Take: Make up yer goll-danged mind, boy!
Burning-Tree Shaman
Romeo’s Take: This guy can kill someone all by himself. “Sac your Sakura-Tribe Elder? Take one. Look at the top three of your deck with Sensei’s Divining Top? Take one. Scratch your groin during your upkeep? Judge!”
Castigate
Romeo’s Take: Wow. Just . . . wow.
Caustic Rain
Romeo’s Take: Well, it’s no Befoul. In a block that features a lot of annoying lands that you don’t want to return, though, it may be even better.
Cerebral Vortex
Romeo’s Take: In other words, “draw two cards at the end of the other guy’s turn and take two.”
Conjurer’s Ban
Romeo’s Take: Is it my imagination, or has Guildpact given W/B some really good cards in just the first three letters of the alphabet?
Crash Landing
Romeo’s Take: If weenie fliers are all the rage, Green should use Trophy Hunter. If the Dragon Legend Spirit Beast Humpties continue to be the beef of choice, pack this instead.
Cremate
Romeo’s Take: Cool. I already have these from Invasion. Great art, too. Anyway, at worst, this card cycles for one mana. At best, you get to yank some annoying Dredge guy or about-to-be-reborn Legend out of a ‘yard and draw a card for one mana. I like.
Cry of Contrition
Romeo’s Take: I’m not sure yet, but I think I’m underwhelmed.
Cryptwailing
Romeo’s Take: Shouldn’t this be CryptKEEPING? Actually, I guess not.
Crystal Seer
Romeo’s Take: Oooo, ooooo, oooooo! Sage Owl without the flying, but much more expensive, and with a really costly ability. Please, send me all of these that you get.
Culling Sun
Romeo’s Take: I think I’m in love with this card. Black-White control decks can now run eight Wrath of God style effects covering the four- and five-mana slots. In addition, four of those cards (this one) will allow the beefy Dragons and Angels to stay in play. I love it.
Daggerclaw Imp
Romeo’s Take: “But it can’t block!” You just got a 3/1 Black flier for three mana. Why would you block with it? You wanna block with a three-cc Black flier? Cast Stinkweed Imp.
Debtors’ Knell
Romeo’s Take: Think this might fit into that W/B Control thing? I think this card probably has the Italian Stallion stamp of approval. Anthony Alongi likes it. I like it. Rizzo had better like it. Anyone know how De Rosa feels about this one? He must like it. How can you not like reanimating a creature every turn for free? Plus, look how it fits the mana curve: Wrath of God on turn four; Culling Sun on turn five; Debtor’s Knell on turn six. You will win.
Djinn Illuminatus
Romeo’s Take: It’s going to be hard to make this guy really hum. Whoever does, though, is going to be rewarded with lotsa booty.
Douse in Gloom
Romeo’s Take: I used to love Vicious Hunger. I played it in Block Constructed, and Standard, and then again in Standard when it was reprinted in the Core set. Now, for one more mana but less intensive color-wise, I get an instant-timed Vicious Hunger. Yummy.
Droning Bureaucrats
Romeo’s Take: How completely awesome is this thing? Creatures with converted mana costs of X or less can’t block or attack this turn? Sweet Elizabeth Hurley in . . . huh? I misread the card again? The creatures whose mana costs are exactly X can’t attack or block? Oh, that blows.
Drowned Rusalka
Romeo’s Take: I wonder how many people before me have compared this to Hapless Researcher. Okay, so it costs mana, unlike Happy. Flip side: for U, any critter becomes Happy. Actually, it’s a tad better than that. Unlike many effects similar to this one in the past few years, you discard first. In other words, if you have an empty hand and activate this guy, you will end up with a card in hand. I think this card is going to see Pro Tour play, and not just in drafts.
Dryad Sophisticate
Romeo’s Take: Do you have a Green Standard deck? Put four of these in it right now. What are you waiting for? Go!
Dune-Brood Nephilim
Romeo’s Take: This reminds me of Brood Sliver. Take from that what you will.
Earth Surge
Romeo’s Take: You can set this thing up with Woodraith Corrupter for some huge fun. Presuming, you know, that your opponent agrees not to attack you before turn six or so.
Electrolyze
Romeo’s Take: Thank Sienna Miller this is an uncommon. I’m sick of really good burn spells turning out to be twelve-dollar rares.
Exhumer Thrull
Romeo’s Take: I’ve always liked Gravedigger, but I’m on the fence over this guy. He costs two more mana than Gravedigger. For that two mana, you get +1/+1 and potentially get a second creature card back in your hand. Is it worth it? I’ll probably have to actually play with the card to decide. That’s a novel idea, isn’t it?
Fencer’s Magemark
Romeo’s Take: I have a feeling that you’ll need to sell out too far to the Aura idea to make these Magemarks any good. (The Ferrett disagrees, at least as far as Limited goes.) I like the random Aura that gives me something else. (See, e.g., Faith’s Fetters, Flight of Fancy, Armadillo Cloak, and the Genjus.) If all I’m doing is giving my opponents a lot of two-for-one targets, that’s no good.
Feral Animist
Romeo’s Take: This is only the second ever Green Goblin (Scarwood Goblins was the other) which makes it cool right from the get-go. Given that Green will probably also mean some mana acceleration, this guy might not be bad with that ability of his. Still, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Frazzle
Romeo’s Take: I’m sure Blue mages are all pissing themselves. “Woo hoo! A splashable Rewind that doesn’t counter other counterspells or Meloku and doesn’t untap any lands! All right!”
Gatherer of Graces
Romeo’s Take: Do we finally have enough pretty ladies for a Standard Enchantress deck again? Probably not.
Gelectrode
Romeo’s Take: Hot, um… sorry, Craig. After Sienna Miller and Elizabeth Hurley, I couldn’t think of any other British babes. Can you help me out? [I’ll do my best. — Craig] Anyway, there certainly has to be a deck built around this thing. It’s a pinger that you can untap pretty much whenever you want. That is certainly A Good Thing.
Ghor-Clan Bloodscale
Romeo’s Take: How many times do you see a card and say, “If it only cost a
Ghor-Clan Savage
Romeo’s Take: Bloodthirst of three? Sign me up for four.
Ghost Council of Orzhova
Romeo’s Take: Blah blah blah Ghost Council’s great blah blah blah Save it from Wrath blah blah blah life draining blah blah blah Vote for Pedro.
Ghost Warden
Romeo’s Take: Look! It’s Angelic Page without the flying or slinky Rebecca Guay chyk on it.
Ghostway
Romeo’s Take: Can you see a use for this? I do. I was just wondering if you did.
Giant Solifuge
Romeo’s Take: This is the problem with leaks. My friend Joe was all over this like Anna Benson at one of her husband’s press conferences. He thought it was a 4/3 with Trample, Haste, and Untouchableness for 1(r/g)(r/g). At those stats, this thing was ginormous since he usually had it on board on the second turn. It’s not a 4/3 for three mana, though. It’s a 4/1 for four mana, and that’s not nearly as good. He’s good, just not great.
Gigadrowse
Romeo’s Take: This will be annoying. Already, there’s a kid on Magic Online figuring out how to use this with Icy Manipulator and Puppeteer just to piss me off.
Glint-Eye Nephilim
Romeo’s Take: Creatures that combo with themselves tend to be underrated at first. Then, they get broken. (See Morphling and Psychatog.) So, I’ll just predict that this will be the biggest creature in the set right now. Then, if I’m right, I’m a freakin’ genius. If I’m wrong, I’m Romeo.
Goblin Flectomancer
Romeo’s Take: Some cards suck ass. This one doesn’t.
Godless Shrine
Romeo’s Take: These lands are very overrated. They come into play tapped, and cost two life to untap. If you get any, I’ll take them off your hands for three dollars apiece. Then, you won’t have to be bothered by keeping track of them.
Graven Dominator
Romeo’s Take: There’s a combo with Rain of Embers here, I just know it.
Gristleback
Romeo’s Take: “I want my Gristleback Gristleback Gristleback ribs!”
Gruul Guildmage
Romeo’s Take: It has the word “Guildmage” in it, so it has to be good.
Gruul Nodorog
Romeo’s Take: “Nodoroooooog!” just doesn’t have the same cache as “Hundroooooooooog!”
Gruul Scrapper
Romeo’s Take: “If not, well, it was still a waste of four mana.”
Gruul Signet
Romeo’s Take: What can I possibly say about these? “Unlike the Ravnica Signets, this one’s good.” They all do the same thing. They do it well. The end.
Gruul Turf
Romeo’s Take: For some reason, I expect this to be the new Spring marketing dish for Outback Steakhouse. “Gruul Turf: You’re tough enough, ainctha?”
Gruul War Plow
Romeo’s Take: This card is very helpful. One of the worst problems that big, beefy guys have is that little wimps can stop them cold. Even without the animation effect, this, then, would be solid. With the animation effect, you can have a Wrath-proof 4/4 Trampler.
Guardian’s Magemark
Romeo’s Take: The “play as an instant” part is the only thing that prevents me from calling this utter dreck. So, it’s just dreck.
Harrier Griffin
Romeo’s Take: I’d like to quote a Michael Bolton song here, but I don’t know which one. Let’s just say the idea is nice but the execution is off. Too much for not enough.
Hatching Plans
Romeo’s Take: If this was an Aura, I’d say, “Sweet!” since I know the creature I enchant would die. Or not. It might make it so that your opponent wouldn’t block it, not wanting to give you three cards. Sadly, it’s not. Unless the deck is designed around sacrificing permanents (and I can envision one now), this will stay in the back of your trade binder for a long time.
Hissing Miasma
Romeo’s Take: So much for those 1/1 Saproling-Spirit-Snake token hordes, huh?
Hypervolt Grasp
Romeo’s Take: I’ve liked the creature ench. . . excuse me – Auras from the past few blocks that turn creatures into Tims. I like this one the most, though, because it can save itself.
Infiltrator’s Magemark
Romeo’s Take: I see a deck built around this and other Auras going down in flames.
Ink-Treader Nephilim
Romeo’s Take: So, one Dark Banishing kills my entire side of the board? No thanks.
Invoke the Firemind
Romeo’s Take: Ban. This. Now. I don’t ever want to see another card that allows someone to “draw X cards.” Ever.
Izzet Boilerworks
Romeo’s Take: Yes, I think it iz.
Izzet Chronarch
Romeo’s Take: As if Warp World decks weren’t annoying enough with Anarchist, now they can use this instead. Ugh.
Izzet Guildmage
Romeo’s Take: A Guildmage is a Goodmage.
Izzet Signet
Romeo’s Take: Probably useful if you’re looking to accelerate mana in a Blue and Red deck.
Killer Instinct
Romeo’s Take: I see no possibilities for abuse with this card. It’s good to go.
Leap of Flame
Romeo’s Take: I’m gonna guess that “Leap of Flame” was just the file name for this card, and they never got the real name into place before it went to the printer.
Leyline of Lifeforce
Romeo’s Take: Possibly the ultimate sideboard card against Blue mages. Too bad the Green Leyline couldn’t be a maindeck card. *sigh*
Leyline of Lightning
Romeo’s Take: I remember the first time I saw Lightning Rift, too.
Leyline of Singularity
Romeo’s Take: Great. Blue can make my deck weak even before I sit down to play it, because I’m going to be worried about having four copies of anything in my deck. So, I’ll go down to three and two of things I shouldn’t. Kinda like Black with Cranial Extraction. Good thing Blue and Black don’t work well together.
Leyline of the Meek
Romeo’s Take: Now, this is a Leyline you can build a deck around. And, of course, I will.
Leyline of the Void
Romeo’s Take: Another great sideboard card from the Leyline cycle, this one is going to hose even more decks than the Green Leyline will.
Lionheart Maverick
Romeo’s Take: It’s Aven Trooper without the flying and wonderful art. This set’s nominee for: Worst. Card. Ever.
Living Inferno
Romeo’s Take: A creature with eight power for eight mana is fine. Add on that ridiculous ability, and I promise that a lot of people are going to find a way to play this guy. If you get him in Limited, play him.
Martyred Rusalka
Romeo’s Take: Wasn’t White supposed to be the color with good weenies? Kamigawa Block was da bomb for that archetype, while Ninth Edition continued it. But Guild Block, so far, leaves me cold (other than Courier Hawk). This ain’t warmin’ me up any.
Mimeofacture
Romeo’s Take: I guess Bribery wasn’t annoying enough. Feh. Okay, so the opponent has to have a creature (or other permanent you want to steal) in play for this to work. That means that Blue will have to let something useful slip through. Oh, drat. How will it ever deal with the first thing that hit, the thing that’s being targetted by Mimeofacture? That’s rhetorical, you know.
Mizzium Transreliquat
Romeo’s Take: “3: Destroy this and the Jitte in play.”
Moratorium Stone
Romeo’s Take: This is either really good or really bad, and that’ll depend on things that you can’t control.
Mortify
Romeo’s Take: I’m a huge fan of elegant cards; cards that are cheap, simple, and do something very cool. This block has tons so far: Telling Time; Watchwolf; Lightning Helix; Putrefy; Stinkweed Imp. Now, it also has Mortify. I’m happy.
Mourning Thrull
Romeo’s Take: How come he’s not a Thrull Cleric, too? Boros Recruit is a Goblin Soldier. Why can’t this guy be a Thrull Cleric? Kahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhn!
Necromancer’s Magemark
Romeo’s Take: Well, now, isn’t this interesting? Here’s a way to dull the pain of losing an enchanted creature and the enchantment. I like.
Nivix, Aerie of the Firemind
Romeo’s Take: Oh, sweet . . . dadburn it, Craig. Seriously, aren’t there any other hot Brits? I mean, other than David Beckham. Oh, wait, yes, Caprice! [Must I do everything for you, Chris? — Craig] Okay, anyway, as excellent as the Ravnica guild lands were, this could end up being the best of the bunch. I know, I know. There’s three more coming in the next set. I hope the level stays as high as they’ve been.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Romeo’s Take: People are going to think I’m an idiot, but I think this guy isn’t that great. Yes, you get one free damage just for taking your turn, and you get a 4/4 flier for six mana, but . . . okay, I’m an idiot. He’s pretty good.
Ogre Savant
Romeo’s Take: For the forty-second time, I wish this cost one less.
Order of the Stars
Romeo’s Take: Aw, geez, seriously? They couldn’t even make this a 1/1? Come on.
Orzhov Basilica
Romeo’s Take: It’s a land. It makes mana. What else can I say about it?
Orzhov Euthanist
Romeo’s Take: I don’t know what he’s enthusiastic about, but he needs to clue me in. What? Oh. “Euthanist,” like someone who supports euthanasia. Crud. It was better the way I misread it.
Orzhov Guildmage
Romeo’s Take: Guildmage = Good.
Orzhov Pontiff
Romeo’s Take: Well, he’s fragile, so that ability’s going to trigger pretty easily. The first one doesn’t seem too useful unless you can make him go away before combat. That second one, though, could be big, big problems for a lot of decks.
Orzhov Signet
Romeo’s Take: Feh. What good is Black and White mana?
Orzhova, the Church of Deals
Romeo’s Take: Have I mentioned how much I like the uncommon guild lands yet? (Checking back…) Yes, I have. I like this one, too. I just don’t love it. Like, I could spend a day with it, and, if I wasn’t dating anyone else at the time, I’d try to get it to spend the night. I just wouldn’t make any long-term commitment. Think about it. For five mana, the Golgari uncommon land becomes half a Mortivore. That’s much better than a two-point life swing. Usually.
Ostiary Thrull
Romeo’s Take: Master Decoy is the best at what he does. All you other pretenders just give up. Still, if you’re B/W in draft, take him.
Parallectric Feedback
Romeo’s Take: You gonna Hinder my Wildfire? I don’t think so. Let me spend four more mana to deal you three damage. Oh, my Wildfire’s still Hindered, innit? Ugh.
Petrahydrox
Romeo’s Take: Any creature that has built-in protection can’t be all bad . . . can it?
Petrified Wood-Kin
Romeo’s Take: My friend (“and former State champ!”) Karl Allen keeps trying to teach me about Win More cards, cards that he says are only good if you’re already winning. They only help you win more. They can’t turn games around. I think this is one of those. If you haven’t dealt damage to an opponent, this is a horrendous 3/3 for seven mana. If you’ve been overrunning your opponent and dealt him/her six damage this turn, he’s a 9/9 for seven mana. On the flip side, if you just dealt him/her six damage this turn, you’re probably pretty much in control, no? The “can’t be countered” and “protection from instants” just doesn’t help much.
Pillory of the Sleepless
Romeo’s Take: Another elegantly simple card. In this block especially, I’m very fond of just immobilizing creatures with, for example, Faith’s Fetters or Stasis Cell. There are just some guys, like Stinkweed Imp, Golgari Grave-Troll, or anything with Moldervine Cloak on it, that you don’t want to kill. You just want to stun them. Pillory of the Sleepless will serve that purpose very, very well.
Plagued Rusalka
Romeo’s Take: He’s no Festering Goblin, but he’ll do.
Poisonbelly Ogre
Romeo’s Take: Ghazi-Glare’s gonna hate this guy. “Put that on my review!”
Predatory Focus
Romeo’s Take: Green Deck Wins.
Primeval Light
Romeo’s Take: Okay, maybe I won’t be playing Hondens at Regionals.
Pyromatics
Romeo’s Take: I guess asking for two damage was too much with Replicate, huh? Crud.
Quicken
Romeo’s Take: I will just call this card Charles, in honor of my friend Charles Dykes who tried to play Pyroclasm during combat.
Rabble-Rouser
Romeo’s Take: Love the name. Not so sure about the cost and the ability. In Limited, of course, he’ll be Da Bomb or Da Man or Da Whatever C00l Kidz Call It Today.
Repeal
Romeo’s Take: It says “Draw a card,” and it’s an instant. I love it.
Restless Bones
Romeo’s Take: The best thing about this card (other than sideboard applications) is that mondo cool name. Almost makes up for Leap of Flame. Almost.
Revenant Patriarch
Romeo’s Take: I kept looking for the word “Flying” on here, but there is none. Is the “if W was spent” ability enough to make up for the other drawbacks? I don’t think so.
Rumbling Slum
Romeo’s Take: I think that a non-Legendary 5/5 for four mana, that hits everyone for one each turn even if it just sits there, is overcosted. This should cost two mana, maybe three, max. Something like 1(r/g)(r/g). In other words, don’t play it. It stinks. Also, you should send me any that you get. Of course, I could be wrong. That’s happened once or twice before.
Runeboggle
Romeo’s Take: Someone’s pulling my leg, right? “Runeboggle”? Really?
Sanguine Praetor
Romeo’s Take: Oh, this guy is so deceptively good. If you run a deck with a smooth mana curve, you can hose your opponent with this guy. Moreover, three seems to be a Magic number right now, and Black has Stinkweed Imp. Stinky + Sanguine Praetor = No Three-Drop Soup for You (or me).
Savage Twister
Romeo’s Take: Another elegant card. Granted, it’s a reprint. Hey, why mess with success? Nice piece of mass removal for some R/G control deck. That’s really an oxymoron, isn’t it?
Scab-Clan Mauler
Romeo’s Take: Nice. very nice. Of course, except in dire situations, you’ll never cast this on turn two. I take that back. Let’s see. Turn one, you play a Karplusan Forest and a Birds of Paradise. Turn two, you drop a Mountain, Shock your opponent, and drop this guy as a 3/3. Okay, he’s good.
Schismotivate
Romeo’s Take: I think this is really good, but I can’t stop giggling at that name. I think Schismotivate was my friend Phil Goldstine’s rabbi, but I can’t remember.
Scorched Rusalka
Romeo’s Take: This one is hot. So to speak. The Scorched Rusalka is going to be a great card for the endgame for those Red decks that choose to run it. As usual, though, what do you take out?
Seize the Soul
Romeo’s Take: This looks like maindeck kind of good, but it’s going to depend on what decks become dominant. If Angel of Despair is everywhere, not so good. Ditto with mono-Black beats or White weenie decks. Let’s just put this in the “Check Back Later” pile.
Shadow Lance
Romeo’s Take: Regardless of the name that I’m sure was taken from an RPG from a decade or so ago, this is a solid card, other than the fact that it offers two-for-one removal to your opponent. With just four mana on board, this thing makes a 1/1 weenie into a 5/5 First Striker. That’s pretty hard to deal with in combat.
Shattering Spree
Romeo’s Take: Most artifacts aren’t hunting in packs right now. There’s a Jitte here and something else there, but mostly they’re lone wolves. In which case, I’d rather pack Smash and draw a card. However, in formats rife with artifacts, this card will be worth its weight in gold (currently approx. $0.18).
Shrieking Grotesque
Romeo’s Take: Sometimes, taking a vanilla creature and slapping an ability into it for some mana X makes it a really good card. This doesn’t cost any extra mana, but it’s still nothing to build a deck around. In Limited, he’ll get taken by both the Boros and Orzhov guild drafters. So, I don’t think he’ll be too highly rated anywhere.
Siege of Towers
Romeo’s Take: With enough mana, you can either swing for a lot of damage or make all of your opponent’s Mountains die to Rain of Embers. Either way, I like this a lot.
Silhana Ledgewalker
Romeo’s Take: If there weren’t so many creatures with flying around, I’d be very high on this guy. Get it? Flying? High? Anyway, it’s too much for too little, although I’m not sure he’d be a great card for just G.
Silhana Starfletcher
Romeo’s Take: Fletcher. Heh.
Sinstriker’s Will
Romeo’s Take: These kinds of abilities (weren’t they supposed to be called Rangerstrike?) always intrigue me. The problem, of course, is that they’re best on creatures who can deal a lot of damage. Those aren’t guys you want to keep untapped, though. Those are guys you want to swing with. I guess you could give everyone Vigilance, but that seems like too much work just to use this.
Skarrg, the Rage Pits
Romeo’s Take: Power bump plus Trample? I need four. Eight, actually. I need four for my brother.
Skarrgan Firebird
Romeo’s Take: A Phoenix that isn’t limited to returning to your hand during your upkeep, huh? And it’s usually going to be a 6/6 flier for six mana? Yeah, I guess that’s okay.
Skarrgan Pit-Skulk
Romeo’s Take: If ever a creature needed Green’s power-boosting capabilities, this is it. Pack Moldervine Cloak and Might of Oaks. Oh, and make sure to cast the Might of Oaks before they can declare blockers.
Skarrgan Skybreaker
Romeo’s Take: Ever since I was introduced to Ghitu Fire-Eater plus Granite Grip, I’ve been enamored of creatures like Bloodshot Cyclops and Bosh that allow you to sac something for damage. Sure, this guy needs for the Bloodthirst to happen for him to be really good. I think we can work something out.
Skeletal Vampire
Romeo’s Take: You had me at “Vampire.”
Sky Swallower
Romeo’s Take: Yeah, that’s what Blue wants to do: give away its toys. Somewhere, though, someone has already figured out how to make this guy work. I just don’t see it.
Skyrider Trainee
Romeo’s Take: Please, play this against me.
Smogsteed Rider
Romeo’s Take: I wonder if any other color has more useful 2/X-for-four-mana dudes than Black does. Gravedigger. Nekrataal. This guy. His usefulness will depend on how much Black shows up post-Guildpact.
Souls of the Faultless
Romeo’s Take: Yet another one that may cost just a bit too much. This is a worth successor to Wall of Hope. It could be a great three-drop in a B/W Control deck that needs to stem some bleeding, but I’m afraid this will just serve as a proxy for a much better card.
Spelltithe Enforcer
Romeo’s Take: You know, White is getting some really annoying guys lately. Hokori is keeping lands tapped. Loxodon Gatekeeper brings them into play that way for your opponents only. Throw this guy on top of it, and someone’s getting slapped.
Starved Rusalka
Romeo’s Take: Why couldn’t this guy do something useful? Was +1/+1 too much to ask?
Steam Vents
Romeo’s Take: Utter and complete doody. Send them to me. I’ll reimburse you for shipping.
Steamcore Weird
Romeo’s Take: I guess if there’s a way to bounce this guy back to your hand every turn. Naw, forget it. You’d still have to recast him for four mana each turn. Blech.
Stitch in Time
Romeo’s Take: Since Rizzo Junior knew this card, I say: Best. Card. Ever.
Stomping Ground
Romeo’s Take: When will they stop printing this dreck?
Storm Herd
Romeo’s Take: As a White mage at heart, I love this card. I want, no, I need to find a way to break this. However, it looks like another Win More card. It costs ten mana. If your life total is high enough at that point to make a significant number of tokens, you should pretty much be winning anyway. Of course, I underestimated how good Decree of Justice would be, too.
Stratozeppelid
Romeo’s Take: Sure. Why not?
Streetbreaker Wurm
Romeo’s Take: Due to the fact that you get six power for five mana, this guy’s better than he looks. Still, that name makes me picture a wurm wearing an orange vest and working on the sewer main that ruptured last night.
Sword of the Paruns
Romeo’s Take: My head hurts figuring this out.
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Romeo’s Take: She’s hot. Therefore, this card must be good.
Thunderheads
Romeo’s Take: Stop giving Blue instant-timed token-making abilities! Thank you.
Tibor and Lumia
Romeo’s Take: This is the card that I will try the hardest to break. You see, too many people don’t get the ability on this. I generalize this from watching people misplay Circu, Dimir Lobotomist. There are two triggers on here. One’s for Blue spells while the other’s for Red spells. Play a Blue and Red spell, and both trigger. You don’t have to choose one or the other, and the spells don’t have to be solely Blue or solely Red. Remember that when playing Circu. Clutch of the Undercity triggers both of Circu’s abilities.
Tin Street Hooligan
Romeo’s Take: Just yesterday, I was working on my Standard Goblin deck. I was bemoaning the fact that I didn’t have Hearth Kami in there. I’ll have to tweak the mana, but this guy makes the cut since he takes out an artifact coming into play rather than leaving. By the way, you’re all correct. Frenzied Goblin is much better than Boros Recruit.
To Arms!
Romeo’s Take: Normally, I eschew (yes, really) card names with punctuation other than commas and “/”s. This one’s too good to pass up, though. It draws a card!
Torch Drake
Romeo’s Take: Are you bored of this yet?
Train of Thought
Romeo’s Take: Drawing cards is good. Drawing more cards is more good.
Ulasht, the Hate Seed
Romeo’s Take: Could be great; could stink. I’m too tired to know. I’ll go with great.
Vacuumelt
Romeo’s Take: I refuse to dignify a card named Vacuumelt with a review.
Vedalken Plotter
Romeo’s Take: Cha ching! I can’t afford Sacred Foundry, but I can trade my Island for yours. I can also take that annoying Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree, thank you so very much.
Vertigo Spawn
Romeo’s Take: Vertigo is one of my all-time favorite movies. I was even lucky enough to see the re-mastered version on the big screen. This creature is not one of my all-time favorites.
Wee Dragonauts
Romeo’s Take: This name is a drunken Scotsman joke, right? I’m offended for all of my Scottish friends.
Wild Cantor
Romeo’s Take: A little mana acceleration goes a long way. All right, it goes one turn. Still…
Wildsize
Romeo’s Take: First guy to say “Wildsize me!” when s/he plays this gets a noogie.
Witch-Maw Nephilim
Romeo’s Take: If its power is ten or greater, shouldn’t you already be winning?
Withstand
Romeo’s Take: Draw a card!
Wreak Havoc
Romeo’s Take: Yet another one that looked better on the spoiler, at that time, it was 1GR. That would make it an eight-dollar uncommon since Blue couldn’t do anything about it on turn 2. It’s still solid for land destruction decks, though.
Wurmweaver Coil
Romeo’s Take: A tad bit expensive, but it has that built-in “way around the two-for-one trade” thing. That built-in safety mechanism gives you a big, fat 6/6 Wurm. And who doesn’t like fat wurms?
Yore-Tiller Nephilim
Romeo’s Take: The fact that this guy will surely work his way into reanimator decks is sad. The fact that he can bring guys with Defender into play as attackers is too cool.
…
I don’t know if your opinion of any cards has changed. As long as you had fun, that’s really all I care about. That, and ensuring you send me those horribly awful rare lands. You don’t need to keep those pieces of trash.
Two more things. First, I’ll try to lay off of the “Craig’s new, and he’s British” stuff after today. I was actually poking more fun at the folks poking fun. Seriously, though: Caprice; Liz Hurley; and Sienna Miller. Are there not any other hot Brit Babes? [Unbelievable. This isn’t difficult, you know. — Craig]
Last and certainly not least, I get to do the SCG Daily thing starting the last week in February, and I could use some suggestions. I’m one of those creative types that actually do better when I have a little bit of a structure from which to start. Leaving me on my own, well, sometimes you get that Smackdown! piece that I did with JMS. I’m still sorry that, by the way.
Next week: something else.
Chris Romeo
CBRomeo-at-Travelers-dot-com
P.S. In Craig’s defense, it really does seem silly to call the American game “football” when only one guy can use his foot on the thing. Heck, anyone else who uses their feet either gets penalized or the play ends. I don’t want to take that too far, though, since “baseball” doesn’t make much sense unless you spell it “base-ball.” I don’t know what I was meaning to say. This is all free anyway. Go Steelers! Go Manchester United! [Go Tranmere! — Craig]