We are mere days away from the Alara Reborn prerelease, unleashing the final chapter of the Alara Block Magic Set, which I think has proven to be not only incredibly interesting, but incredibly fun.
Shards of Alara brought a new kind of gold set, one centered around the five shard color combinations. The overpowered Lorwyn/Morningtide Block, and to a lesser degree Shadowmoor, is a tough year to follow in Magic, due to player’s perception of cards and power levels.
A classic trap that many players and theorists fall into is to examine new cards from the perspective of what the formats were like, rather than what they will be like. This same mentality led players to think that blocks like Odyssey, Onslaught, and Lorwyn were not as powerful as they would eventually prove to be.
Shards block has continued this trend with many players initially dismissing many of the cards in Shards of Alara, though time has proven the set to have a lot of powerful cards, and unlike Cryptic Command, Bitterblossom, Spectral Procession, and Figure of Destiny (the best cards in each of the block’s sets) the cards in this set do not seem to warp the format entirely around them, which I think is a lot more fun.
Top 10 Constructed Cards from Shards of Alara
10. Rhox War Monk
9. Tidehollow Sculler
8. Master of Etherium
7. Esper Charm
6. Elspeth, Knight Errant
5. Ranger of Eos
4. Broodmate Dragon
3. Cruel Ultimatum
2. Ajani Vengeant
1. Wild Nacatl
There is no denying the impact these cards have had on their respective formats, including some of the most powerful Planeswalkers ever, some of the best creatures of all time, and some powerful cards that have added new dimensions to existing decks or helped spawn entirely new archetypes.
Conflux followed a few months later, this time centering on the joining of the five shards, with such themes as five-color cards and domain. With cards like Cryptic Command, Bitterblossom, Spectral Procession, and Figure of Destiny, players knew it would take a lot to have an impact on tournament play. They were not disappointed.
Top 10 Constructed Cards from Conflux
10. Ancient Ziggurat
9. Exotic Orchard
8. Celestial Purge
7. Knight of the Reliquary
6. Martial Coup
5. Wall of Reverence
4. Banefire
3. Volcanic Fallout
2. Path to Exile
1. Noble Hierarch
As I write this, it is a week from the prerelease, and only 50 cards have been spoiled thus far. It is interesting to consider the impact that this constriction of information will have on tournament play, especially since the cards will be legal as of the day of the release event (the week after the prerelease).
Although there are a number of Standard Grand Prix tournaments coming up, it is Regionals that will really set the pace for Standard this spring. With Alara Reborn literally only being known and legal for minutes as of the Regional championships, there is HUGE advantage to be gained by savvy players who are ahead of the curve.
There is probably little doubt that many players will just crutch on their familiarity with Spectral Procession, Bitterblossom, Cruel Ultimatum, or Noble Hierarch to carry them through their Regionals, but if you take the extra effort to identify some sweet new technology in Alara Reborn, you can really improve your position in the metagame.
If a set just isn’t very deep (Eventide), there is only so much technology to be extracted, no matter how much you may try. Fortunately, if the first 50 cards spoiled by our friends at MTGSalvation.com are any indication, Alara Reborn seems to be more than just fun… it seems to be rich with powerful cards that are posed to shake up tournament Magic.
A couple of weeks ago, I talked about some Alara Reborn cards here, but very few had been spoiled at that point. I want to talk about ten more today, but keep in mind, this is far from a top 10 list, as two-thirds of the set has yet to be spoiled. All I am saying is that if that if these cards are any indication of the quality of the set, I think we are all in for a treat. Alara Reborn is going to be a good one.
All card texts are courtesy of MTGSalvation.com. Many of these cards have images available there if you guys want to check them out. The cards look beautiful, though I still wonder what the singles case is going to look like with all gold cards…
Broodbraid Elf
Creature – Elf Berserker
2RG
Haste, Cascade
3/2
Let’s cut straight to the chase. I think this card may prove to be the best card in the set. I mean, there are still almost a hundred unspoiled cards, so it is possible that there is something even stronger, but I suspect this card may be of comparable power level to Spectral Procession, making it one of the most powerful cards in years.
First of all, let me be crystal clear. Cascade is a very powerful ability. It is not just a cantrip, it is a Black Lotus and semi-uncounterable advantage. It is also selection. The implications of Cascade will take many months to understand, but I am telling you, this ability is setting off all the alarms in my head. We need to really examine every single Cascade card to try to understand what we can do with it, as this mechanic has the ability may be truly breakable, or at the very least, just might strong.
This creature, like Bituminous Blast (3BR, Instant, deal 4 damage to a creature, Cascade) is deceptively strong. I knew from my experiences with Bituminous Blast that every Cascade card needs to be tried, so I built a multicolor control deck featuring this card just to try it. I was a little distracted by the Haste aspect, and wondered if it would really fit into the deck I was playing.
It was the best card, not close.
Imagine you play this card and flip up Terminate. It is a 3/2 Haste Nektrataal that still works even if it is countered.
Imagine you flip an Esper Charm. It is like Harmonize, except instead of the third card, you get a 3/2 Haste creature.
Imagine you flip a Woolly Thoctar. That means for four mana, you get a 5/4 and a 3/2 Haste on two bodies that takes two counterspells to stop. That is debatably a stronger effect than Broodmate Dragon!
This card is going to be revolutionary. Mark my words. Imagine your opponent attacks you with a Wilt-Leaf Liege, a Rhox War Monk, and a Treetop Village. You play Bituminous Blast on the Liege, revealing a Broodbraid Elf! Then you reveal a Woolly Thoctar and block…
There are so many aspects of this card to consider, but it is just so powerful that you don’t even need to fully appreciate them all to love it. It is an Elf, which is a blessing to many decks that struggle to find enough playable Elves to run Wren’s Run Vanquisher or Gilt-Leaf Palace. I can’t even imagine championing this guy with a Packmaster…
This creature has Haste. This is obviously good in an aggressive deck, sure, but even in a control deck, you aren’t even really paying for the ability anyway, as this card almost always generates far more than four mana’s worth of effect. The fact that it has Haste is invaluable when combating Planeswalkers, which can traditionally pose problems for control decks.
The Cascade happens before the creature is in play, meaning you can actually flip even if they counter the creature, and if for some reason you flip something like a Volcanic Fallout, you don’t need to kill your own guy. Remember, you don’t even have to play the card if you don’t want to, though if you do, your creature won’t be in play yet.
There will be many secondary effects caused by the move towards Cascade. For instance, Banefire, Martial Coup, and Broken Ambitions lose value and will surely see less play than they were (though all are still fine cards). Players who use Cascade are going to have to closely examine every cheap spell they play. This is an aspect we will talk about more below with Ardent Plea and the Borderposts.
Finally, we have to ask ourselves, “Can we break Cascade?”
It is obvious that Wizards R&D has probably spent a lot of time making sure that they are not unleashing a monster, but it is going to be fun to see if we can prove them wrong. The first thought many people have is to play all the Cascade cards to create huge Cascades that cause all of your cards to be huge tempo and card advantage swings, but I suspect that this is not the best way.
Other players imagine playing decks with no cheap spells beyond the ones that they plan on cheating into play, such as Ancestral Visions or Restore Balance. Still other players image setting up the top of their library with cards like Ponder or some sort of Mystical Tutor effect.
Broodmate Elf does not need shenanigans to be amazing. The card is just ridiculously powerful and just produces much more than you should get for four mana. Let’s look at a card that does require a little more work.
Ardent Plea
Enchantment
1WU
Exalted
Cascade
This card is not the raw powerhouse that Broodbraid Elf is, as an Enchantment with Exalted is worth very little (neither a card, nor a full mana). However, the subtle strength of Ardent Plea is its abusability as a tutor and mana generator.
The whole joke to Ardent Plea is that it is the cheapest Cascade card. This is hugely relevant, as Cascade is an ability that gets stronger the cheaper the card, since there will be fewer cards in your deck that will be hit by it, meaning you have more control over the effect generated.
If you commit yourself to the Cascade plan, you can actually build your deck in such a way so that every time you Cascade, you generate a powerful effect. In Block Constructed, this may mean as little as having all of your cheap cards be things like Terminate, but with Ardent Plea, we can actually talk about some tricks that are only possible in Extended and higher.
Ancestral Visions, Restore Balance, Wheel of Fate, and Lotus Bloom (maybe even Living End) all scream to be abused, as they are all cards that “technically” count as costing less than Ardent Plea, even though the effects they generate are typically far more powerful.
If you could somehow build an Extended deck without any spells that cost 0-2 except for whatever broken effect you wanted, you could actually have access to a 3 mana spell that is your choice of Ancestral Recall, Wheel of Fortunate, Balance, or Living Death.
You can use cards like Simian Spirit Guide to try to cheat the whole “No Cheap Spells” restriction, but I don’t know how competitive a deck we can make without one- and two-drops. Still, if you are an adventurous deck builder, there is a lot of territory to explore here. Imagine what you could do with Wheel of Fortune, Balance, Ancestral Recall, or Living Death!
The other approach is to just abuse top-of-library information, with cards like Ponder. That way, you can set actually use cheap cards, but you do have to work to break the Plea. Ancestral Visions and Lotus Bloom have the advantage of actually being good on their own, but Wheel of Fate and Restore Balance are probably the most abusable if you are just looking to generate an ultra powerful effect for only three mana.
I am not sure of the correct direction to take with this line of deckbuilding, as there are so many possibilities. I can picture some kind of a Legacy deck that uses Ardent Plea, Lotus Petal, Moxes, Sensei’s Divining Top, Mystical Tutor, Brainstorm, and Restore Balance or Wheel of Fate to due some really busted things.
In Extended, I think it is possible that we may want to combine Long Term Plans with Ardent Plea as an engine in a deck that features 4 Ancestral Visions, and some number of other abusable cards like Restore Balance.
It might be possible to play cards like Tolaria West to fetch up Balance if there is some good way to put a card from your hand back on top of your library. There are any number of ways to fetch up enchantments or gold cards or spells that cost 3, to ensure you get Ardent Plea. For instance Glittering Wish, Drift of Phantasms, or Idyllic Tutor.
One may even combine this general approach with the Draco–Erratic Explosion combo or Swans of Bryn Argoll. It is hard to say, as there are so many interesting possibilities to explore. You could even bounce the Ardent Plea repeatedly to abuse its ability. Heck, you could even just Remand it!
Enigma Sphinx
Artifact Creature
4WUB
Flying
Cascade
When Engima Sphinx is put into your graveyard from play, put it into your library third from the top.
5/4
Another Cascade card, so we need to stop and think about this one. In this case, the joke is very different than that of Ardent Plea.
First of all, the fact that this card is so expensive means that you can play spells like Broodmate Dragon off it, but I think this is shortsighted. A 5/4 flier is already a pretty big board presence. Why set yourself up to lose it all to a Wrath?
More interesting to me is the fact that this can combine with cards like Wrath of God to clear the board before it hits play. Once you start to look at it as an (almost) Angel of Despair, you can start to really appreciate how powerful a card this could be. You lose the reliability of the Angel, but instead have the potential for more powerful effects, plus the “unkillability” aspect is not to be underestimated, going long in a control deck.
I doubt this card will prove the most abusable of the Cascade cards, but it seems like it could be a fine victory condition, especially in Block. To me, the gold standard is the Terminate test. Whatever creature you are thinking about playing, you should ask yourself how it matches up against Terminate.
As good as 5/5 for four mana is on paper, if it fails the Terminate test, you might want to consider a different strategy.
Broodmate Dragon and Cloudthresher each have the potential to beat Terminate on value, making them better than Oona right now. Enigma Sphinx may or may not prove strong enough, but it does pass the Terminate test, and with flying colors.
The Terminate test is essentially-
“If you have the creature and your opponent has Terminate, who gets better value?”
For instance, Noble Hierarch gains value on mana, Mulldrifter gains value on card economy, and Empyrial Archangel is immune to Terminate.
Woolly Thoctar actually fails the Terminate test, as does Rafiq of the Many. This does not mean they are unplayable, but rather that you must take care when playing with them that you appreciate the fact that you are setting yourself up to have a hidden disadvantage from the get go in this format. It is not just Terminate, though, it is Path to Exile, Unmake, Bant Charm, Condemn, Flame Javelin, Terror, Nameless Inversion, Eyeblight’s Ending, and so on. There is a lot of good removal out there.
Maelstrom Pulse
Sorcery
1BG
Destroy target non-land permanent and each permanent that shares a name with it.
… … … …!
Speaking of good removal! Wow, this card is just… wow. The obvious comparisons to Vindicate, Oblivion Ring, and Putrefy are certainly warranted, but there is more to it than that.
First of all, I don’t think this card is actually Vindicate. The ability to destroy a land is just huge. Still, the “echoing” ability, while not quite as strong as the landkill option, is actually much more relevant than many people realize. I think this card could actually prove superior even to Putrefy as a result.
One of things I realized about Alara Block Constructed is that there are strong incentives to play Oblivion Ring and Scourglass, but they don’t work well together. Maelstrom Pulse is what Oblivion Ring wishes it was.
It is a dream answer to Planeswalkers, it is good creature kill, it sweeps tokens (like Spectral Procession), it lets you deal with artifacts and enchantments without wasting slots on narrow cards, and it is even a possible source of card advantage.
You want a good card to Cascade up with your Broodbraid or Blast? This is the one!
This card will be a chase rare, despite not being Mythic. I highly recommend picking it up. My choice picks from the past few sets have been Cryptic Command from Lorwyn, Bitterblossom from Morningtide, Fulminator Mage, Figure of Destiny, Broodmate Dragon, and Noble Hierarch. I haven’t always hit the nail on the head, but I think I have done a pretty good job of picking cards to pick up before they go up in value.
This card will be popular with just about everyone, and people always like enemy color cards. There is not much more to say about this card beyond the fact that it is extraordinarily versatile and reasonably efficient. The fact that it solves Spectral Procession and Ajani Vengeant and Bitterblossom and Figure of Destiny and so on, makes it easy to see why this card is a surefire winner and will easily be one of the top cards in the set.
Firewild Borderpost
Artifact
1RG
You may pay 1 and return a basic land you control to owner’s hand instead of paying Firewild Borderpost’s casting cost.
Firewild Borderpost comes into play tapped.
T: Add R or G to your mana pool.
There is a cycle of five of these, one for each of the friendly color combinations, as represented by the borders between the shards (such as Naya and Jund, in this case). The art is quite beautiful, and is the basis for the five playmats coming out with Alara Reborn.
These cards have already proven controversial, as some are calling them “failposts” due to their poor comparisons with Signets or Tri-Lands, when you just look at them as one or the other.
I think this analysis is unfair, however, as they cards are actually quite versatile. First of all, as a dual land, they are not bad at all. They are essentially comparable to Shivan Oasis, which has been used before and is still used today (such as Arcane Sanctum in B/W). The drawback of needing a basic can be reasonably overcome, especially in Block, though the vulnerability of it as an artifact must be considered.
The card starts to get more interesting when you consider the value of being able to “buy” an Obelisk. The difference between an Obelisk making 2 and 3 colors of mana is not huge, nor is the fact that it comes into play tapped. The bigger drawback here is the fact that the card costs 1RG instead of 3, ensuring that there will be awkward games where you draw 3 non-basics but are still unable to cast this as an Obelisk or play it as a land.
Still, the option to play your accelerating fixer as a land makes the card a strong option to have. The thing is though, there is more to it than meets the eye. These cards are multi-color and artifacts. This is subtly significant.
You can actually use them to cheaply and efficiently power up everything from Court Homunculus to Cliffrunner Behemoth (and the new Jund Muckcutter – b/g R — Gets +1/+1 and haste if you have any other multicolor PERMANENTS. 2/1). There are many ways to take advantage of these, and with a little imagination, some pretty exciting things are possible.
Take, for instance, Knight of the White Orchid. If you play a Borderpost, you can actually reliably play Knight of the White Orchid on turn 2 and still get value. You can even realistically expect to trigger it on turn 3 when you are on the play.
What about the interaction with Realm Razer? Master of Etherium? Who knows what else…? If you have anyway to take advantage of having colored permanents, gold cards, spells that cost more than you paid for them, artifacts, less land, bouncing land, etc, you can very quickly turn the Borderposts from “reasonable dual lands” into tremendous sources of advantage. It really doesn’t take much to extract great value of these.
There is a but, however. The Borderposts may end up not seeing as much play as they otherwise would have, due to a couple of external factors. First of all, and I don’t think it is that big a deal, but the basics thing is important. Not because basics are bad, but because so many non-basics are so good.
More important than this, however, is the interaction with Cascade. Cascade has the potential to warp the environment around it, and one consequence is that you want to make sure to build your deck so that your Cascades are live. Some decks will not mind Cascading into a Borderpost. However, I think that most will want to flip cards that impact the board, such as Maelstrom Pulse.
A 3/2 Haste for 4 that gives you a dual land isn’t bad, but it is obviously far from as impressive as most of his other tricks.
On top of this, I think that Maelstrom Pulse will be popular, and, to a degree, Oblivion Ring. I am not sure you can afford to have your mana messed with if you are a control deck (when their removal spell would have been weak otherwise), which is unfortunately the exact type of deck that would normally want a Borderpost.
As such, I am left believing that Borderposts will play roles and will be used a variety of ways, but the primary use will probably be taking advantage of the fact that they are colored and artifacts, with cards like Court Homunculus, Cliffrunner Behemoth, Knight of the White Orchid, and Realm Razer.
Mycoid Shepherd
Creature — Fungus
1GGW
Whenever Mycoid Shepherd or another creature you control with power 5 or greater goes to a graveyard from play, you may gain 5 life.
5/4
I am running long, so my comments on the second half of my list will be a little brief.
Mycoid Shepherd is exciting for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that you can actually compare it to Loxodon Hierarch without laughing.
The ability to trigger off other creatures is probably about as relevant as Loxodon Hierarch’s sacrifice ability, though the potential to gain 5 life when it dies is not nearly as good as 4 life up front.
This is balanced by the fact that you get an extra point of power, which is kind of a big deal when you consider just how big a 5/4 for 4 is (with abilities instead of drawbacks!).
The fact that the Mycoid Shepherd is more difficult to cast helps ensure that it will not usurp Loxodon Hierarch’s legacy; however, it will certainly see play, especially in formats like Standard and Block. The card has the power level needed to compete, but it has a hidden problem that many people may not realize at first.
Its converted mana cost is four.
Let this sink in for a moment.
That means it has to compete with Broodbraid Elf, Ranger of Eos, Elspeth, Ajani Vengeant, Spellbreaker Behemoth, Cliffrunner Behemoth, and Sarkhan Vol in this block alone! That is a lot of stiff competition.
Qasali Pridemage
Creature – Cat Wizard
GW
Exalted
1, Sacrifice Qasali Pridemage: Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
2/2
When I first saw this card, it was exciting for a Viridian Zealot update, and then I realized it has Exalted. I would think this card would be good enough to play even without Exalted, which is actually a very choice ability.
I think that this card compares favorably with Watchwolf, as it is essentially 90% of a Watchwolf as a beater, but then has the incredible versatility of being able to destroy Bitterblossom, Glorious Anthem, Loxodon Warhammer, Tidehollow Sculler, Scourglass Borderposts, Jitte, Cranial Plating, Threads of Disloyalty, Shackles, Astral Slide, and more, often with value. There will be a lot of times where your opponent cannot block your Qasali, for fear of trading while giving you a one-mana Disenchant for free.
Even though he is not as good a blocker stat-wise, he is a powerful deterrent, as he threatens to not only trade (or chump) but take down something with him.
Kami of Ancient Law saw a lot of play, and this guy is obviously vastly superior. Exalted is worth far more than the difference between GW and 1W, and the colorless mana needed to use the ability is well worth the added ability to destroy artifacts.
This guy could easily be one of the top 5 cards in the set.
Jenara, Asura of War
Legendary Creature — Angel
GWU
Flying
1W: Put a +1/+1 counter on Jenara, Asura of War.
3/3
A 3/3 flier for three is worth talking about, especially in a world of Volcanic Fallouts and Cloudthreshers. The casting cost and Legendary status are not actually that prohibitive, but the standard for creatures is pretty high these days.
It is the subtle strength of the pump ability that makes Jenara so promising. See, if you don’t pump her, she is hardly better than a Serendib Efreet (not a bad card at all). However, much like Figure of Destiny, she is great early when you don’t have spare mana, as well as later when you do.
Her pump ability may not be the most busted way to spend 2 or 4 mana, but it is a nice option to have to make sure you are using all of your mana every turn. Her subtle beauty is that she ensures that you are making the most out of your mana supply, which for many Bant or four-color aggro decks often ends up in situations where you have more Noble Hierarchs and Birds of Paradise than you know what to do with.
She does fail the Terminate test, but she can rumble with Mistbind Clique and live, and in a standoff, she eventually beats even Wall of Reverence and Broodmate Dragon, given enough time.
It is hard to say if the format is going to be right to make her one of the top cards, but my intuition is that she will be quite good. I really love cards that are good on their own, but have to potential to be great ways to convert extra resources (such as mana into board presence).
Thraximundar
Legendary Creature – Zombie Assassin
4UBR
Haste
Whenever Thraximundar attacks, defending player sacrifices a creature.
Whenever a player sacrifices a creature, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Thraximundar.
6/6
How cool is this?!
First of all, there is no question this guy appeals to my inner Timmy, maybe even Vorthos, as I can’t help but imagine how much fun it will be to hit my opponent with a giant Hasty Zombie Assassin that eats the souls of its victims.
Once I got over my initial attraction to the flavor of the card, I realized, this guy could actually be really good.
To begin with, if you assume your opponent has a creature in play (which is not an unrealistic assumption these days), he can be a nice source of card advantage and board position. If you can just attack one time without eating a Terminate, you can be up a card and have a 7/7 Haste creature for 7 that threatens to completely take over the game.
He is extraordinarily difficult to race, and he impacts the game in many meaningful ways. I really think that even though he is a risky play in a world full of good removal, the potential payoff is worth it.
You only need to successfully declare one attack before you are ahead. This means that even if your opponent has Terminate in hand, you are still ahead if you just catch them when they are tapped out.
I don’t think it is the Terminate Test that is going to be most difficult for Thraximundar, but rather the Cruel Ultimatum Test. There is no question he is easier to cast, and as a creature has certain advantages. However, any card that costs seven mana must be compared to Cruel Ultimatum these days. If you are playing Thraximundar you better be sure you are not just playing him as a bad Cruel Ultimatum.
Uril, the Miststalker
Legendary Creature — Beast
2RGW
Uril, the Mistsalker cannot be the target of spells or abilities your opponent’s control.
Uril gets +2/+2 for each Aura on it.
5/5
Michael Jacob dream card is finally here!
First of all, we need a baseline to examine this guy. To me, the obvious one is Kodama of the North Tree. Kodama was 2CCC for a 6/4 Shroud which is comparable to Uril’s 5/5 for 2CCC. They are both Legends, but good creature types. Kodama did have trample, which was nice, but Uril can be targeted by you, which I think is actually quite good even beyond the fact that you need to do this to use his other ability.
I think that a 5/5 is probably better than a 6/4 right now, due to cards like Figure of Destiny, Plumeveil, and Doran, but we really need to consider his last ability to see his value.
The Rabid Wombat ability has not traditionally been printed on a lot of tournament cards, but to be fair, it has always cost 3-4 mana (at least) to buy this ability, where as Uril gets it for free.
This is really quite nice, as it alleviates the burden of having to “prove” that the ability is worth it, since you can just play it outright, and if you ever do his trick, you are a happy camper.
One of the big problems with Rabid Wombat type abilities is that they open you up to Terminate. The Troll Ascetic ability overcomes this problem, however. If you look, traditionally, cards like Troll Ascetic and Silhana Ledgewalker have been among the most popular to enhance with Auras (and equipment).
I am not sure what the Aura of choice will be to put on Uril, but I can imagine something like Moldervine Cloak being perfect. The key is that you don’t need to live the dream for him to be good, it is just icing on the cake.
I like this guy a lot simply as a 5/5 super shroud. He doesn’t just pass the Terminate test, he looks like he is the exact right shape and size to be worth considering, even though his intrinsic power level is not absolute top notch.
That does it for me for this week. I am going to be taking off to fly to Minnesota soon to get ready to gunsling at the Legion Events prerelease, and I gotta say, I am very excited. This whole block has really delivered from my perspective, and Alara Reborn may prove to be the best of a good batch.
I hope you guys have fun at whatever prerelease you attend, and I look forward to kicking it with you again next Monday. For those of you wondering, I am not writing a tournament report for the PTQ I won last week in NY, as the format is over with for now and Alara Reborn is much more interesting. Besides, all I did was play against Naya over and over and over.
For what it’s worth, here is the list I used.
Faeries, by Patrick Chapin
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Spell Snare
2 Condescend
1 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Cryptic Command
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Umezawa’s Jitte
2 Vedalken Shackles
4 Mutavault
3 Riptide Laboratory
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Steam Vents
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
4 Island
4 Snow-covered Island
1 Plains
Sideboard:
3 Flashfreeze
3 Sower of Temptation
2 Stifle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Future Sight
See you next week!
Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”