Hits And Misses From Kaladesh’s Mythics

Angel of Invention: Hit

Angel of Invention seems like a really powerful card to me. Certainly a Limited powerhouse, I’m quite sure Angel of Invention will not be in all or even most white decks in Standard, but I do think Angel of Invention has a home in white decks trying to go wide. Having the fallback mode of a Gisela, the Broken Blade with vigilance to replace first strike isn’t a bad spot to be, but putting three creatures onto the battlefield with a built-in Glorious Anthem effect is right where a deck like G/W Tokens would want to be. The biggest problem with Angel of Invention is that it’s competing with Archangel Avacyn in the five-drop slot.

Demon of Dark Schemes: Miss

Demon of Dark Schemes seems like a potential sideboard card or maindeck one-of toolbox card for Traverse the Ulvenwald if it is able to line up well against a deck of swarm creatures. Demon of Dark Schemes has the ability to bring back even Emrakul, the Promised End from any graveyard, which could be a sweet inclusion in a delirium-style deck. Demon of Dark Schemes seems about the same power level as Massacre Wurm, which saw some Standard play. I think you may run into some scheming Demons throughout the course of Kaladesh Standard, but it won’t be very often.

Chandra, Torch of Defiance: Hit +

Well, Chandra, Torch of Defiance speaks for herself. I haven’t heard anyone talk about Chandra, Torch of Defiance and not expect her to change the Standard format. Competing with an already powerful Chandra, Flamecaller is her only downside. I think Chandra, Torch of Defiance will have a big impact how decks are built all over Standard. Five toughness is going to be the place to be when Chandra, Torch of Defiance is released, with Grasp of Darkness and Chandra, Flamecaller already being cards that kill four-toughness creatures.

Chandra, Torch of Defiance being a bit weak to a card like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is a bit concerning, so I’m sure we’ll see a lot of this struggle of planeswalkers in Kaladesh Standard. Chandra, Torch of Defiance is about as much of a lock to be a big player in Standard as you can get. With red lacking so much in recent years, I’m glad they decided to give red the most powerful card in Kaladesh.

Nissa, Vital Force: Hit

Another great planeswalker coming out of Kaladesh. Nissa, Vital Force can ultimate the turn after she enters the battlefield and can even protect herself by untapping a land and leaving a 5/5 blocker behind. Nissa, Vital Force can also put tremendous pressure on the opponent immediately. Her ultimate is essentially a one-sided Howling Mine, which is going to be extremely powerful in midrange mirror matches. Don’t sleep on her ability to Regrowth a permanent, either. I could see Nissa, Vital Force bringing back other planeswalkers, even another copy of herself, to create some really difficult spots in grindy matchups. I think Nissa, Vital Force is certainly one of the best cards in the set.

Metallurgic Summonings: Miss

Metallurgic Summonings feels like a pretty clunky win condition for control mirrors. I don’t think it will see any Standard play because it has no impact on the battlefield immediately. This is a sweet build-around card for some casual play, but other than that, I don’t think I’ll ever actually cast this card.

Cataclysmic Gearhulk: Hit

Cataclysmic Gearhulk is going to depend very much on the texture of the format. If a lot of decks are playing artifacts and Vehicles, Cataclysmic Gearhulk won’t be able to eliminate all but one permanent on the opponent’s battlefield. Because Cataclysmic Gearhulk is an artifact itself, it pairs quite nicely with Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. Play Gideon on turn 4, creating a Knight token, followed by a Cataclysmic Gearhulk on turn 5 allows us to keep all three of our permanents while potentially crippling the opponent. I think Cataclysmic Gearhulk also has the key five toughness that keeps it out of range of both Chandra planeswalkers and Grasp of Darkness, making it a somewhat resilient threat. I think Cataclysmic Gearhulk will find a home in Standard somewhere, but I don’t think it’s an auto-include when matched up against other white five-drops like Archangel Avacyn.

Torrential Gearhulk: Hit

Torrential Gearhulk seems simply awesome to me. This is a much different card from Snapcaster Mage because it can’t be cast until much later in the game, whereas Snapcaster Mage had a huge impact on turn 3. Snapcaster Mage generally works better in tempo decks with cheap spells, while Torrential Gearhulk is better off getting maximum value by casting the most expensive instant you can manage to put in your graveyard. With a lack of expensive playable instants in the format, it will be interesting if the last bit of spoilers gives us something sweet to Flashback with Torrential Gearhulk. I see Torrential Gearhulk mostly flashing back cards like Grasp of Darkness, Murder, and various counterspells, but maybe the occasional Scour the Laboratory will help us feel something. Let’s just all hope we don’t live in a world where flashing back Engulf the Shores with Torrential Gearhulk is a good thing to be doing.

Noxious Gearhulk: Hit

Noxious Gearhulk is my favorite Gearhulk spoiled thus far. I don’t think it’s necessarily the most powerful of the cycle, but it certainly fills a hole in my last Pro Tour deck. The G/B Delirium deck I played at Pro Tour Eldritch Moon was lacking a reasonable way to gain life and didn’t have an artifact card type to put in the graveyard to both hit delirium and reduce Emrakul, the Promised End’s casting cost. Noxious Gearhulk fills both of these roles and can be fetched up with Traverse the Ulvenwald. Let’s not forget Liliana, the Last Hope is also a card in this deck, and also this color, allowing us to bring back Noxious Gearhulk after it is destroyed. Four toughness is one of the only downsides I see with this creature. Noxious Gearhulk is going to see Standard play.

Combustible Gearhulk: Hit

I saw a lot of people underwhelmed by Combustible Gearhulk when it got spoiled. I instantly imagined milling an Emrakul, the Promised End with Combustible Gearhulk and winning the game on the spot. Again, the Gearhulks are artifacts, adding another rare card type for casting Emrakul, the Promised End, and alongside Chandra, Torch of Defiance, I could see all of these three cards being a real contender in Standard. I may be putting my money in bad here, but I’m going to gamble that Combustible Gearhulk is more playable than the initial wave of reactions gives it credit for.

Verdurous Gearhulk: Miss
Verdurous Gearhulk is the last Gearhulk in the cycle. Verdurous Gearhulk looks remarkably similar to cards like Ulrich of the Krallenhorde or Wolfir SIlverheart, but with the ability to keep the bonus permanently while also spreading it out amongst your creatures makes Verdurous Gearhulk a whole new animal. Like Angel of Invention, Verdurous Gearhulk plays well with a go-wide strategy, but it can also be fine with just any other creature on the battlefield, diversifying your threats to play around removal and pressure planswalkers.

I think Verdurous Gearhulk is bound to see some play in Standard, mostly being utilized in decks with high creature counts. Verdurous Gearhulk does have some stiff competition in the five-drop slot with the new green planeswalker Nissa, Vital Force, which is simply just a better card. I’m going to pass on Verdurous Gearhulk because I think the smart money is on Nissa, Vital Force to dominate the five-drop slot in green.

Skysovereign, Consul Flagship: Hit

Skysovereign, Consul Flagship is the hardest card to evaluate. With the new card subtype of Vehicle that we have never played with before, we have to theorize how games are going to play out. This card is certainly powerful, and having the built-in resiliency to sweepers and sorcery speed removal is quite frankly huge.

My biggest problem with Skysovereign, Consul Flagship is a high Crew cost. Unless we are casting three-power creatures every turn, we have to pay a cost of tapping a creature to attack that could already be attacking on its own. I think this downside is heavily outweighed by the upside of always having the ability to attack when we play a creature in the middle of the game with three or more power. Let’s not fail to mention that cards like Lumbering Falls and Wandering Fumarole pair incredibly well with Skysovereign, Consul Flagship. I think there will be a deck that plays nicely with Skysovereign, Consul Flagship in Standard and I’m excited to find out where.

Saheeli Rai: Miss

Saheeli Rai is an interesting card that is difficult to evaluate. At first look, I was pretty unimpressed. Without the ability to protect itself and needing another worthwhile artifact or creature on the battlefield makes Saheeli Rai a difficult card to take advantage of. “Scry 1 and ping an opponent” isn’t much to write home about, and the long delay to ultimate makes Saheeli Rai feel a little underpowered to me. Saheeli Rai’s effectiveness will fluctuate with how powerful the blue creatues, red creatures, and artifacts are in the Standard format. The Gearhulks seem like they could do some damage with this planeswalker, but there is a huge gap in mana cost there.

Three-mana planeswalkers almost always end up being better than they look, however, and I could definitely see this card having a bigger impact in a format with a larger card pool like Modern. For now I’m going to pass on Saheeli Rai in Standard, but I won’t be surprised if I’m wrong.

Rashmi, Eternities Crafter: Miss

Rashmi, Eternities Crafter seems like a card that won’t get much Standard or Modern play but may be targeted to more casual formats. Rashmi’s biggest problem is fragility. A four-mana three-toughness creature that doesn’t provide any value until you untap is a tough sell in a format where most decks play removal. Since Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is always at least the first spell you cast, you can’t sequence it on your own turn to gain an immediate advantage, making the card much less desirable. I’m going to pass on Rashmi, Eternities Crafter.

Aetherworks Marvel: Miss

I think Aetherworks Marvel will simply end up being a bulk mythic rare. Six Energy seems like simply too much to pay with the four mana to have an inconsistent result on casting a card. Gaining one Energy per permanent that hits the graveyard won’t be fast enough to consider playing with this card in Standard. Obviously I’d love to cast a free Emrakul, the Promised End, but I simply don’t think it’s in the (top six) cards.

Now, About Those Masterpieces…

After observing some Twitter debates when word of the Masterpieces being unveiled had hit, I didn’t really agree with how some of the professional community felt about them.

Pro Tour players were worried about the Masterpieces ruining the integrity of Limited games at the Pro Tour. I think there is a lot of variance that goes on in Magic. Adding another remarkably rare moment for games at the Pro Tour makes for memorable stories and a more exciting viewing experience. I don’t mind losing to a Sol Ring or Mana Crypt, just as I won’t mind losing to a Chandra, Torch of Defiance.

I understand that these are cards too powerful for even Legacy, but I do think the fact they are so rare offsets the downside. That is my personal opinion and I certainly understand the sentiment of other Pros. My only personal complaint is it’s nearly impossible to test with some of these cards, so figuring out how highly I should take a card like Sculpting Steel in an artifact-based set may be a bit difficult. All in all, however, I really like Masterpieces and enjoy the sweat of opening a super-rare card in a Standard booster pack.

Artificial Intelligence

I’m really looking forward to Kaladesh and next week I intend to follow up with another hit or miss article with the rares from Kaladesh. Until then, enjoy inventing with the new cards from Kaladesh. I hope you find a Masterpiece!

Good luck in Orlando this weekend!