Wow, can you believe Alara Reborn is just around the corner? I am already pysched to be hitting up the Legions Events Prerelease in less than three weeks, when we can finally see how Alara block is going to finish up.
By now, you have surely heard the news that Alara Reborn is (allegedly) all multicolored. What the implication of this are, remains to be seen. Our good friends over at MTGSalvation.com just dropped the news on us that there are hybrid/gold cards, a new kind of hybrid card that requires a colored mana of a certain type as well as hybrid mana of two other types. For example-
Marisi Twinclaw
2 r/w G
Creature- Cat Warrior
Double Strike
2/4
So the Marisi Twinclaw is 2/4 creature with Double Strike that either costs 2RG or 2WG. Seems simple enough, although there is no question, I am a little unsure of what it is going to be like dealing with this set. First of all, hybrids were already pretty hard to grok and to talk about, and these are even more difficult to deal with.
Next, what is this set going to look like visually? Having all gold cards makes me imagine the case at RIW Hobbies and wonder what it is going to look like.
How are we going to sort these cards?
I don’t know, I guess this just seems a bit more extreme to me than Legions, but I have no doubt that Wizards R&D would not have gone for it unless they knew it would work, so I have faith.
Marisi Twinclaw is somewhat interesting, as it is better than a 4/4 for 4, to begin with, and Double Strike is very abusable. Before I get to into talking about specific cards, I want to talk about four perspectives, four ways of thinking, that we should apply when examining new cards in Alara Reborn.
These ways of thinking are useful for just about any sort of critical thinking you are doing, whether it is building a deck, reviewing your opening hand, or any sort of non-Magic planning you might be undertaking. Some Magic players and most Magic theorists will already be familiar with these four perspectives, but I will review them here briefly for the good times.
The Four Perspectives:
Top Down
Upside Down
Front Back
Back Front
Top Down thinking is essentially looking at what is there and considering the implications of that. Examples of this are looking at the best cards in each color combinations, the busted rares, your initial speculation about which commons are first picks, and coming up with new combos made possible with Alara Reborn cards.
Upside Down thinking is when you look at something, but look to see what is not there, considering the implications of that. With this type of thought, you are looking to see what is absent, such as good countermagic, cheap removal, two-drops, finishers, card advantage, mana acceleration, and so on.
Front Back, or forwards thinking, is when you imagine how things will play out logically from start until finish. With regards to examining the Alara Reborn spoiler, this involves imaging how you would actually use specific cards in games, and how the games would play out when you use said new cards.
Back Front, or reverse thinking, is the type of thinking that involves imagining some situation, the playing of a card or a game state, and then working backwards to the start, imagining what it would have taken to get to that point. For instance, if you are planning on dropping some great new rare that you think will win it for you, what would the turn before have looked like? How about the turn before that? What would it take to get to that a point where that card can take the game over?
Now let’s get into some of the rumored new cards from Alara Reborn. As always, all card texts are courtesy of MTGSalvation.com and not necessarily official, so take care when making decisions such as whether or not to preorder cards and so on. Remember when Manaplasm was thought to be 1G and Giant Solifuge a 4/3? These card texts are as accurate as possible, but are not guaranteed.
The casting cost is easy to figure out, but for ease of use, I have used capital letters to describe regular colors (B, U, G, R, W) and lowercase letters only for hybrids (b/g). So for instance, b/g R would be BR or GR to cast.
Spellbound Dragon
3UR
Rare
Creature — Dragon
Flying
Whenever Spellbound Dragon attacks, draw a card, then discard a card. Spellbound Dragon gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the discarded card’s converted manacost.
3/5
Let’s take a look at this guy from the Top Down perspective. What is he? To begin with, he is a 3/5 flier for an easy-to-cast 5 mana. That is a great deal in Limited, but not quite up to snuff in Constructed (compare to Demigod of Revenge).
Let’s see what else he is. He is also a Looter Il-Kor. This ability to loot while attacking was invaluable on the Looter Il-Kor, but how much is the looting ability worth on a five-drop? Still, the fact that he gives you selection while attacking is nice.
The giant front end bonus of +x/+0 is kind of hot, since you get to choose what card you discard, so you can just discard Cruel Ultimatum or Broodmate Dragon for a quick 9 or 10 damage, making this guy potentially a VERY fast clock. It is hard to really evaluate how fast the +5/+0’s from discard Shriekmaw or Mulldrifter will add up.
To me, this card is most like Maelstrom Archangel, as it is roughly similar size and functions in a similar way.
It should also be kept in mind that Spellbound Dragon is a Dragon, which is a creature type that has been at least somewhat supported in the past (Crucible of Fire!).
What about Upside Down? What is this creature not? What is it lacking? For starters, 5 toughness is very reasonable, especially with cards like Mistbind Clique and Flame Javelin around, but at the end of the day, this guy is vulnerable to Celestial Purge, Path to Exile, Bant Charm, Unmake, Terror, Shriekmaw, even Condemn, and the soon-to-be Terminate reprint (which we will get to in a moment). That means he is surprisingly vulnerable for a five-drop that is played at sorcery speed with no immediate card advantage.
He also is slow in the sense that he is a sorcery-speed five-drop that doesn’t have haste and has little immediate impact on the board.
Front to Back thinking leads us to examine what will happen when we play Spellbound Dragon. If we tap out to play him turn 5, who is to say he doesn’t just get Terror/Terminate/Path/Sower/Bant Charm/Purged, etc? That is how I imagine the game playing out. In order to take advantage of this Dragon, I think we will want to have some way to attack our opponent’s hand, such as with Vendilion Clique, or perhaps some way to protect our Dragon from opponent’s removal.
In addition, we will want to make sure that we discard a card of substantial enough size so that we really get paid for going to all the trouble of summoning this guy.
Back to Front thinking has us examine what the board looks like when we summon this card and work backwards from there.
I imagine that when we play this card, we are probably playing some kind of a Block Constructed deck that uses a variety of monsters, so as to overload their spot removal. We probably need the board to be somewhat stable when we summon him, so we will want to have cleared the board somehow. Scourglass is an obvious option to play the turn before, although instant speed removal like Path to Exile, Terminate, and Celestial Purge are all options.
We may also want to play this card with the help of a little acceleration, so perhaps a turn 3 Obelisk into Path or Wretched Banquet is in order, followed by a turn 4 Dragon (or even a turn 4 Obelisk into turn 5 Dragon).
Dragon Broodmother
2RRRG
Mythic
Creature – Dragon
Flying
At the beginning of each upkeep, put a 1/1 red and green Dragon creature token with flying and devour 2 into play. (As the token comes into play, you may sacrifice any number of creatures. It comes into play with twice that many +1/+1 counters on it.)
4/4
Top Down we have a Verdant Force variant (remember, it makes tokens on both upkeeps) that is 6 mana instead of 8, smaller, has flying, and makes tokens that have flying as well as Devour. In addition, the usual attributes of Gold, Dragon, Red, and so on need to be considered.
Upside Down, we see another unbeatable Limited card, but one that is very vulnerable in Constructed. Broodmate Dragon has become the gold standard for fatties in Standard, as it gives you a 4/4 flier even if they kill half of it. This card could very easily come out and die before ever making a token, or perhaps just one token.
This is also not a fast clock for a six-drop. You could attack, for 5, then attack for 9, then attack for 13 if you wanted, making it have the potential to kill in 3 more turns, but that is not any faster than a Broodmate Dragon, which might just be a more reliable card on account of the larger guarantee.
Front Back, I see this card coming down and if unanswered, it immediately taking over a game. Even if you don’t have time to Devour anything, you are still talking about a 4/4 that can produce two extra blockers a turn. In addition, the Devour is actually quite nice for breaking through the standoffs that typically plague token generators. No longer will a Wall of Reverence hold off your entire army. Instead, you just make a 7/7 Dragon to attack with, and then a couple turns later, make another.
Realistically, I see this card dying the majority of the time it is played, but the truth is, it will punish you very quickly if you let it live. Its influence on the board is tremendous.
How did we get to a point of playing Dragon Broodmother? Having tokens to Devour might lead up to it, as well as some sort of mana acceleration. It definitely seems like a Block card, although it probably has better chances of seeing Standard than the previous Dragon.
The fact that it competes with Broodmate Dragon is tough, but I guess the key is to create a situation where you can just drop this guy and let him totally take over the game for you. If you can get him to even just live one turn, his influence over the board is unbelievable, very quickly outclassing Broodmate Dragon, if unchecked.
Still, I am not so sure it will live up to the hype.
Jund Muckcutter
b/g R
Common
Creature — Goblin Berserker
As long as you control another multicolor permanent, Jund Muckcutter gets +1/+1 and has haste.
2/1
This is a card that just seems unreal to me. Let’s look at what it is, first.
When used properly, it is a 3/2 Haste creature for two mana, that just asks that you play with cards like Figure of Destiny or Tattermunge Maniac. Two mana for a 3/2 haste is unheard of and has the potential to revolutionize Standard, forcing people to adopt more cheap removal.
A card like this really encourages Volcanic Fallout, Tarfire, Celestial Purge, Plumeveil, etc, where as you probably don’t want to use a card like Terror or Sower of Temptation in this case.
This is not just a Black creature, though, it is also a Goblin, which could be relevant (see Auntie’s Hovel).
Upside Down, we see that this is not the best way to fight Volcanic Fallout and probably doesn’t work well in a deck without a lot of other weenies. It is very aggressive, but it makes a terrible defender if you fall behind. You also leave yourself open to getting surprised when he shrinks unexpectedly on account of your opponent killing your Figure of Destiny.
What happens when we play this guy? Well, our opponent will very likely be on a very short clock, particularly if we open with Maniac into Muckcutter on the play. We will want to follow the turn up with good removal, like Flame Javelin the following turn, to help clear the way, and we probably don’t want to have to commit more to the board after him.
In order to play this guy, we are probably playing a R/b/g aggro deck, with a variety of aggressive beats and a fair amount of burn.
Leading up the Muckcutter is very obvious, we want to play a one-drop that is hybrid. It will help to have other gold cards in our deck, like Doran or Ram-Gang or Sculler or Outlander, but the key is to lead with Figure of Destiny or Tattermunge Maniac. Before playing this card, I would consider all of the other hybrid one-drops to see if there is a third one-drop with which to compliment this.
Spellbreaker Behemoth
1RGG
Rare
Creature — Beast
Spellbreaker Behemoth cannot be countered.
Creatures spells you control with a power of 5 or greater cannot be countered.
5/5
This guy could be looked at as an uncounterable 5/5 for 4, for the most part. The ability to make other 5 power creatures uncounterable is of marginal value, since he is already such a commitment to the board, however, as a Rumbling Slum variant, he has an appeal.
Being able to play a creature that outclasses Plumeveil and Mistbind Clique, and without fear of Cryptic Command or Broken Ambitions, is kind of nice. This is doubly so if the Muckcutter encourages even more people to play Agony Warp instead of Terror.
Whether or not there are any (Contested Cliffs) cards that take advantage of his creature type remains to be seen. Perhaps his ability to make other creatures uncounterable could even be important.
What is this guy not? Well, he is not going to beat tokens on his own. He is also not going to beat spot removal, outside of burn and permission.
What will happen if we play this guy? I could see boarding him into a Five-Color Control deck to surprise someone who didn’t know you had creatures, although this doesn’t work if you play a million walls.
I could easily see you setting up a situation where your opponent is relying on countering whatever you do, especially if you are playing some sort of R/G or Naya Aggro deck. You just wait until they are banking on permission, then you drop this guy and pass the turn. Your opponent has to wait to Wrath on their turn, giving you free reign to do whatever you want on your turn, unmolested.
If your opponent doesn’t have an immediate answer, it is very conceivable that they may have to throw away multiple cards trying to deal with him. I predict the Spellbreaker will end up seeing a fair amount of tournament play.
How did we get here? I see this as a durable dependable Rumbling Slum for someone in the market for such a thing. It is not incidental that he can protect your Woolly Thoctar. I would guess Noble Hierarch is likely to play a role, if you are creature based, although I could easily see this guy fitting into a deck that doesn’t use that many men.
Maybe it is Block and you are playing a Naya Planeswalker aggro deck with Noble Hierarchs and Druid of Anima. It is rough that he is yet ANOTHER four-drop in such a deck, but still, imagining what the board is like the turn before he comes into play can be very helpful.
Terminate
BR
Common
Instant
Destroy target creature. It can’t be regenerated.
This is not a new card, but rather what is sure to be an extremely popular reprint.
Terminate is sort of a Path to Exile, sort of a Terror, and is sure to prove very popular in a variety of decks. First of all, it can kill most creatures for only two mana, and without the downside of a Path. This is a potentially big boost of tempo. Talk about a nice way to kill Walls of Reverence, Cloudthreshers, Mistbind Cliques, and so on.
What is it not? It doesn’t remove the creature from the game (Kitchen Finks, Worldheart Phoenix), it doesn’t kill Pro: Black or Pro: Red creatures (Stillmoon Cavalier, Forge Tender), and it doesn’t have the versatility that Path or Bant Charm both have. It is also not a solution to tokens (Cloudgoat, Siege Gang, even Ranger of Eos).
When you play Terminate, you will look to want to capitalize on the tempo gain, since you will often be trading 2 mana for 3 or more. This is especially useful when you are attacking with men, though not wanting to play a lot of burn.
What does the board look like the turn before? You are probably trying to develop the board, ideally deploying a Maniac on one, a Muckcutter on two, and a Terminate and Figure (if they kill one of your guys) on three.
Alternatively, maybe you are playing a control strategy and your plan is to kill their Doran or Mistbind Clique or Figure when you are behind or trying to just pull far ahead.
Exsanguination
2BR
Rare
Sorcery
Name a nonland card. Target player reveals his or her hand. Exsanguination deals 3 damage to that player for each card with that name in his or her hand. Search that player’s graveyard, hand, and library for all cards with that name and remove them from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library
To me, this card is a just a new Cranial Extraction with a little bit of Blightning thrown in for good measure. The majority of what you are paying for is the Cranial Extraction effect, but the fact that you can pretty reliably get 3 damage out of it makes it a much more viable card, despite the format not being very combo heavy.
What is it not? It is not the most efficient discard, nor the most efficient burn. You may play it just for the Cranial effect, but it is unlikely that you will want it for just the burn or just the disruption. You are probably going to want both, most of the time.
What is going to happen when you play it? Assuming you are on the play, you are going to name Cryptic Command! If you are on the draw and your opponent was foolish enough to Ranger up two Figure of Destinies… I think you can see where this is going!
What does it look like the turn before? If a Cranial Extraction effect becomes desirable, then just about anyone with access to these colors could throw it in just to hose some narrow strategy. If you are playing it for value, though, you are probably combining it with an aggressive strategy that is long rang enough to benefit from the disruption.
It should also be noted that Thoughtseize and Tidehollow Sculler are incredible ways to set this card up, but even just hosing someone who uses Murmuring Bosk, Gilt-Leaf Palace, or Secluded Glen can be nice. Talk about a great way to get that annoying kid who is taunting your Blightning deck with Wilt-leaf Lieges!
Bituminous Blast
3BR
Uncommon
Instant
Cascade (When you play this spell, remove the top card of your library from the game until you remove a nonland card that costs less. You may play that card without paying its mana cost. Put the removed cards on the bottom of your library at random.)
Bituminous Blast deals 4 damage to target creature.
Cascade seems so sweet to me. The keyword is clearly the interesting part of this card, as Cascade promises to change the way we think to some degree. If cascade is as it appears here, you will get a “Cascade Copy” when you play the card, similar to a Storm Copy, making Cascade very good against counter magic.
It is tempting to see this as bad with Countermagic, but what if you used this removal spell in response to a spell, just to see if maybe you hit countermagic?
In a way, this ability is kind of like Storm, but in another way, it is also a cantrip, as it is implied that Cascade is a two for one out the gate. In addition, Cascade can almost be a tutor effect. It will be interesting to see how cheap of Cascade cards they make.
Imagine this card
Sorcery — U — Do Nothing. Cascade.
This card would be completely broken in Extended, since you could play it and immediately start flipping over cards until you reveal Ancestral Visions or Wheel of Fate or Restore Balance.
Keep an eye on the cheapest Cascade cards to see if there is a way to break this.
It is also interesting to note that you can Cascade into Cascade card, and keep it going. Talk about the potential for a blowout.
Bituminous Blast, to me, is sort of a Prophetic Bolt with more potential upside, but without the ability to hit players. Getting a surprise blocker in combat seems potentially awesome and it is going to be wild imagining how this mechanic will effect constructed. This is by far my favorite part of this set and I am so excited to see what they do with it.
What is this card not? It is not cheap. Also, if all the Cascade cards are expensive, they aren’t always going to be reliable, since there are so many potential cards you might flip over. It is interesting that this card could actually trump a Broodmate Dragon, and wow is this a good answer to Mistbind Clique, if you have the mana when they summon it.
What will happen when you play this card? Likely, you will lose a little mana on the deal for the removal, but be way ahead because of the Cascade, assuming you can trade the burn for anything reasonable. I wonder if their will be any good ways to set up the top of your library…?
What will you do before you play this? You will want some cards to buy you the time to get to a game state where you have the luxury of spending five mana on removal. The trick is that you need to make sure all of your spells that cost four or less are things you would want to Cascade up. For instance, Cryptic Command is far more interesting than Remove Soul, and remember that cards like Spectral Procession, Mulldrifter, Flame Javelin, and so on all dodge Cascade in a way.
I am about to drive down to the PTQ in Columbus and play a little bit more Faeries. For now, I will leave you with the suggestion to think about each card you read as Alara Reborn is unveiled not just one way, but in all four of these ways, as this could help you be ahead of the curve when it comes to picking the next Bitterblossom or Tarmogoyf, or even just the next Path to Exile or Wall of Reverence.
The rumored Magic strategy guide? I can’t get into that yet, but I am definitely excited for it, as it is coming together nicely. Thanks to everyone that has been providing positive feedback on that project (as well as any other). Also, props to everyone helping me content-wise. Over 50,000 words already? It wouldn’t even be close to possible without all of your help. Thanks a million.
See you guys next week!
Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”