Innovations - X Marks the Spot, or Some Other Clever Tenth Edition Pun

With Tenth Edition only one short week from dropping, and with the newly re-black-bordered policy, I am excited… and I want to start by taking a look at some of the cards in the set. Not every card I cover will be the next Volcanic Hammer, nor will I cover every card that will see tournament play. I am not even going to pay equal attention to the colors. However, I can promise you that I will talk about every card that I talk about. One final disclaimer: this information is based on an unofficial spoiler found on MTGSalvation.com. They are reputable… however, there is always a risk when going on unofficial information.

Thursday, last week, I was at a party. I asked a friend of mine if he wanted to collaborate with me on my article. To provide some context, you have to keep in mind that this young man has never seen a Magic card before, knows nothing about it except that it is a card game I play, and had been less than sober for about five hours. Obviously, this seemed like a great idea to him at the time.

We decided that the best format would involve me asking him questions about Tenth Edition, and him imparting his wisdom.

Patrick: So out of Black, Blue, Green, Red, and White, which colors gained and which colors lost from the changes?

Josh: Well, see the thing is, Black can be pretty much always be counted on to be Black, but the stuff just isn’t quite as impressive as their old stuff. Blue is, you know, what it is. Some ups, a lot of downs, but it is always one to watch. Red, like Blue, is good, but you can’t have all Blue and Red without some Black, from time to time… … … What were the other colors?

I cracked up, and only wished someone were there that could appreciate the beauty of his drunken observations.

I will spare you with the rest of Josh’s take on Tenth Edition, but suffice to say he is not actually that far off. To be fair, Green did well, but it is still Green all day, and will continue to be all night. (Actually Green is fine, just misunderstood by Green Mages, lol.) … … … What was the other color?

White has been so bad for so long, the kids in my area actually refer to the weakest color in a set as the New White. I mean, if you look historically, it has been downhill for White since the rotation of Armageddon. Granted, you can’t let White mages go around blowing up everyone’s land (Red Mages, however…), but did Wrath really need to be Black? At least they still have Savannah Lions… er, wait, they’re printing that in Blue or something, right? (Probably as a 3/1, given that it’s the “right color” now.)

Don’t get me wrong… I have nothing against White mages. Some of my best friends are White. So let’s start with what they have now.

Aura of Silence is obviously gassy. I think that Aura of Silence is preferable to Disenchant these days, if you can support the mana. Whether it is maindeckable or not is hard to say, but man is this card a beating versus Flores’s Mishra deck. Plus, your round 2 opponent will have Seal of Fire and Chromatic Star/Mishra’s Bauble in his Tarmogoyf deck. Aura of Silence is a good time.

Beacon of Immortality – I am not impressed. Martyr of Sands is so much better in so many ways. Yes, obviously they are a combo, but let’s be honest. If you are using Martyr of Sands and Proclamation of Rebirth, you are still not assured a win, and that is something like six times as strong as Beacon of Immortality.

Cho-Manno, Revolutionary – Why would this guy suddenly become good? He isn’t even indestructible.

Glorious Anthem – I guess in theory this is always a card to consider, but without Savannah Lions or Isamaru, or pretty much any Tier 1 one-drop, I am not seeing this being a big factor for White this time. My kingdom for a Mother of Runes!

Loyal Sentry – Is this what it has come to? I mean, I guess he does block Tarmogoyf and Quiron Dryad…

Luminesce – a fine sideboard card, but again, not a new addition.

Mobilization – Not as good as Sacred Mesa unless you are taking advantage of the creature type Soldier or you are using it with Glare of Subdual.

Nomad Mythmaker – If anyone is the new Tallowisp, he is certainly it. I don’t just mean the fact that he deals with auras, but rather that he is a janky card that is interesting in draft, but has the potential to be really powerful in Constructed if you happen to have built around it and he doesn’t die. I am not all-in on the Mythmaker, now. I mean, I was never all-in on Tallowisp, either. I am just saying it would not be the most surprising thing I have ever seen a wily mage pull. Man oh man, if this guy could just Take Possession of stuff…

Pacifism – A fine role-player, but it was always at its best in Boros and Zoo, neither of which should be as popular as Gruul. I mean, Watchwolf and Lightning Helix are both great, as is Horizon Canopy, but is it really worth it to play White? I suspect it is probably not, although obviously many will.

Paladin En-Vec- This guy goes in and out of fashion more than most. He may not have a Jitte this time, but he is pretty good against Incinerate, Mogg Fanatic, Terror, etc. I predict a moderate amount of success for him, mostly tempered by the fact that he doesn’t fit that well into a Gruul deck. My dream is to play this guy in a Blue-based creature deck. Is that even possible?

Pariah – A fairly strong, versatile card. Can serve as removal, can combo with Troll Ascetic. No, you should not put this on Cho-Manno. (Watch, the next Japanese National Champion will obviously do just that.) Will never be Tier 1 as long as Repeal is in favor. Another reason to consider maindeck Aura of Silence type cards, though.

Reya Dawnbringer – I used to run her in my Invasion Block Twilight’s Call Reanimator, and she is pretty freaking powerful. Still, when a format defined by Damnation, Seething Song, and Kird Ape loses Seething Song and Kird Ape, you gotta think there will be a fair number of people running answers. There are so many good fatties now. She may be no Akroma, but there is still plenty of room for a fatty to be worse than Akroma and still be worth 2BB.

Rule of Law – Wow, now this is a sideboard card that makes me think about running Hallowed Fountains or Godless Shrines. Too bad it doesn’t stop Project X, but it certainly sexy versus storm.

Serra Angel – Some day, she will be good enough! (Not today though.)

Skyhunter Skirmisher – A cheap double strike creature that can complement Swiftblade in a pseudo-aggro-combo deck, or just works well with cards like Moldervine Cloak and Might of Old Krosa.

Soul Warden – Okay, this guy might be close to Tier 1, but you know what I mean.

Spirit Link – Are they going to change this card to give the creature the new keyword? If so, that makes it a lot weaker, as you would no longer be able to use it as removal. Hopefully, they did not. However, it is still too weak.

Story Circle – Will see more play now that Circle of Protection: Red is gone. Not super-exciting, but solid.

Suntail Hawk – Without something like Jitte, I don’t imagine you would actually want to do this.

Treasure Hunter – A sleeper. This guy is hot. You heard it here first.

Voice of All – I hate to sound on the fence about some of these cards, but there are a lot of borderline cards that will either see play or not based on how the format shapes up. I doubt this is Voice of All’s year, but it could be cute with Pariah or something. Besides, it’s been playable before.

True Believer– Yeah, I guess he’s okay, but I have never loved this man. Not loved, anyway.

Windborn Muse – Umm, Incinerate? I would love to do this to one of those Mono-Green Aggro people that punish me in Friday Night Magic. Still, he is almost surely not good enough.

Wrath of God– You already know the facts. Damnation is just so much more than Wrath could ever hope to be. That said, if you have Plains and not Swamps, this card is fantastic and will be crucial to dealing with a world of Tarmogoyf and Korlash. Who isn’t this card good against? (Don’t answer that.)

What did White lose that people will actually miss? Worship, Savannah Lions, Sacred Ground, and even cards like Ivory Mask or Weathered Wayfarer and Peace of Mind.

As I said, White got hosed, which is unfortunate, considering it was already the worst. Still, it has a few draws, but it will take a major set or two of good White to bring it out of the cellar.

This has grown to be much longer than I originally anticipated. I guess I’ll just move on to Blue.

Arcanis the Omnipotent – I could actually see this guy making it, if there just wasn’t so much amazing competition.

Cancel – This card is not very good, as is well understood by now. That said, it has its place. It is still the cheapest unconditional hard counter. You don’t want this to be your plan.

Cephalid Constable – a powerful squid whose day has not yet come. If only you could play Lightning Greaves…

Denizen of the Deep – Wow, eleven? That’s ridiculous. It’s not even funny.

Discombobulate – First Rewind over Dismiss. Rewind turns into a hit. Now we get this? This can’t possibly be good. It can’t even compete with Dismal Failure.

Evacuation – A hot one with Mystical Teachings!

Flash Freeze – It really says something that Gainsay was maindeckable and this card is but a sideboard option.

Hurkyl’s Recall – I stay up at night imagining doing this with Mishra in play.

Fat Moti – Not even close.

Peek – So it has come to this? I mean, if you want to grow, you want to grow.

Persuasion – Maybe, but have you seen Take Possession?

Plagiarize – Fun fetch with Mystical Teachings, but only good enough if a whole lot of people are Careful Considering.

Remove Soul – Will be seen in more and more maindecks, especially after Remand is gone.

Rootwater Matriarch – This chick is not bad. There are plenty of good auras these days, and this ability is very strong. If only you could Mythmaker your opponent’s men…

Spiketail Hatchling – This guy is nice one. A Blue/X tempo deck can certainly profit from him.

Thieving Magpie – It might be time for a comeback, but my goodness is this guy no Ohran Viper. Plus, Incinerate is major Frown Town.

Tidings– So 2006.

Time Stretch – I mean, I guess you could Gauntlet of Power, but if you really want to take extra turns, you should just Walk the Aeons with Rites and Loam or Crucible.

Time Stop – This one is playable and gives you more Time Walk if you want, plus it is not the worst Counterspell or Fog.

Traumatize – Is it possible to build a deck that Traumatizes itself on turn 4 and kills you with double Bridge, Flame-Kin Zealot, and Dread Return supported by Narcomoeba?

Unsummon – A strong tempo card that will see play.

Wall of Air – Don’t sleep on this one. That said, it doesn’t stop Tarmogoyf.

Vedalken Mastermind – He has an outside chance. There are so many good 187s right now.

What did Blue lose? Annex, Battle of Wits, Confiscate, Mana Leak, Rewind, Sleight of Hand, Temporal Adept, and Zur’s Weirding? Wow, as a whole, Blue got wrecked. Still, it is Blue, so Vegas has 3-1 that it’s the best color.

I would like to talk about the other colors in the future, but there are a few cards I would like to look at this week that I think are particularly interesting.

Hidden Horror – An interesting tool in Reanimator. I would like to see this guy fighting side by side with a Vexing Sphinx.

Agonizing Memories — It’s no Persecute, but it is a powerful option and will be a new staple.

Graveborn Muse – This guy is awesome. I will definitely be building around him for years.

Lord of the Undead – I am really feeling the zombies, like a lot. This guy is gonna be a winner.

Nekrataal – Will go up with the upswing of Tarmogoyf.

Goblin Lore – Possibly the best card in the set. Certainly one of the Top 5. This guy will go in several existing decks (some Dredge, for example) and will spawn multiple new ones. There are so many ways to abuse this, and it is inherently overpowered to begin with.

Incinerate – Obviously incredible, but not the be all and end all.

Lavaborn Muse – Now this is a The Rack I can get behind. Still, she is no Nezumi Shortfang.

Mogg Fanatic – One of the all-time greats. Still, he is no Kird Ape.

Seismic Assault – Definitely a hot one with Life the Loam. Will spawn multiple new archetypes.

Shunt – A hot one. Use this one to fight permission, discard, burn, whatever.

Siege-Gang Commander – People may have to use this guy fair and square this time, but he is still amazing and will find a home.

Squee – Will see play in all the obvious ways.

Warp World – If only they had printed Boseiju…

Abundance – probably not good enough, but it is not completely without hope.

Creeping Mold – I think the time is right for this one to make a comeback. There are just so many good targets, ranging from Factories to Seismic Assaults to Bottled Cloister.

Llanowar Sentinel – A subtle winner. This guy is really efficient and versatile. Could go a lot of places.

Quiron Dryad- One of the Top 5 cards intrinsically, but it sure looks like they tried to hose it. Still, you can’t keep the Dryad down. There is a reason it is the creature of choice in Vintage.

Root Maze – More people should play this card.

Stampeding Wildebeests – A card to watch, obviously, with stuff like Civic Wayfinder, Loxodon Hierarch, Carven Caryatid, Coiled Oracle, and Patagia Viper, etc.

Troll Ascetic – One of the most important cards in Tenth Edition, this guy is gonna be great. I don’t know if its good, but a lot of decks fold to this guy and a Loxodon Warhammer.

Citanul Flute – I love this card, but it is certainly expensive. I will definitely be trying to make it work, though. At its best as a toolbox survival type card.

Crucible of Worlds – Mouth of Ronom, Terramorphic Expanse, Horizon Canopy, Treetop Village, Faire Conclave, and so many more. This one will see play for sure. Life from the Loam is hard to compete with, though. Still, it doesn’t cost you a draw phase.

The Hive – Will be banned inside of three months. There are no good answers in the format, and the metagame will devolve into The Hive / Anti-Hive.

Mind Stone – A huge one. This card is better than most people realize. Yes, it is better than a Signet in general. This and Mishra are making a believer out of me.

Pithing Needle – I love this card existing. Always on the shortlist for sideboards.

Platinum Angel – I like this one, but there is so much competition.

Razormane Masticore – Squee? Squee!

Steel Golem – Probably not his day, but he is a solid card for sure.

Painlands – Will be re-appreciated when Ravnica leaves.

Manlands – They are playable… yes, even the White one. Obviously, the Blue and Green are best.

Quicksand – Maybe, when mono-colored decks come back.

…

That ended up turning into a little bit more than “a few more,” but what can I say? There are a lot interesting cards in the mix. I promise I’ll be funnier next week. Besides, I still have to run down my adventures in Cali. They include eleven white rappers, Cypress Hill, two porn stars (three, if you count the guy), a cigar I did not smoke, the beach, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, partying with Jeroen Remie both before and after a waiter severely burned him and didn’t even apologize, Team Draft action, Herberholz demonstrating why he is the MVP of Pro Tour Partying, Basketball, casting Living End in the Pro Tour, chess with pieces four feet tall, a mountain, my new favorite person (Kenji), losing $4.50 to Ffej, and Emotional Drama involving three women (two of whom were straight). No Two-headed Giant strategy though… sorry, heh.

Man, I wish I was writing that article right now.

Bonus Block Decklist!

RelicKorlash

Patrick Chapin

Test deck on 07-15-2007

Time Spiral Block