This week I want to take a preliminary look at Future Sight.
This article was written before the prerelease due to the fact that there’s simply no time to do it this weekend and I would rather talk about some of the new cards instead of just doing more TTP stuff as I think it’s more valuable. The information I’m going on is from the spoiler on MTGsalvation.com, which contained 163/180 cards at the time of this writing. My goal this week is to highlight some cards that piqued my interest in one way or another, or some cards for which I already have strong feelings. Normally in a First Impressions article I talk about the new mechanics being introduced, but Future Sight has far more than normal so I think it’s almost as valuable to just talk about specific cards and then figure out how they fit into archetypes a few weeks down the road. I’m also going to try to avoid mentioning cards that are obviously very good, and instead focus on the more subtle things. Ichor Slick, for instance, is a Last Gasp with Cycling and Madness, and I really hope I don’t have to explain why this card is absolutely nuts in Limited formats.
Gathan Raiders
3RR
Hellbent – Gathan Raiders gets +2/+2 if you have no cards in hand.
Morph – Discard a card
3/3
I’m going to go out of color order here to start, because this card is absolutely unreal in Limited. While I haven’t played with the new cards as of this writing, I have a strong feeling that this guy is going to really shake up the way this format is played. Yes, there’s only one pack where you can get him. There was only one pack of Zombie Cutthroats too, and they still managed to almost ruin OLS. The good news about TPF is that it’s not entirely based on morphs like that of the Zombie Cutthroat’s old stomping ground. The bad news is that Gathan Raiders is far better than Cutthroat could ever hope to be.
This guy really does it all. He’s a first pick in any color combination. His ability helps turn on the Hellbent as well as enabling Madness in B/R, helping out Fiery Temper or Reckless Wurm should you have one. Don’t forget you can also cast him face up and he’s still a fine beater. As I look over the spoiler, this guy is one of the cards that really sticks out in terms of being influential on how Limited games are played out, mainly due to the fact that he is a common. Any face-down creature now requires respect, as his ability allows him to flip for zero mana in any color at any time. I really believe this is a mistake – this guy should’ve been uncommon.
Judge Unworthy
1W
Instant
Choose target attacking or blocking creature. Scry 3, then reveal the top card of your library.
Judge Unworthy deals damage equal to that card’s converted mana cost to that creature.
Wow. White hasn’t had this kind of removal in quite a long time. The sickest thing about this card is that it also kills blockers, unlike most white Exile / Second Thoughts variants, and it sets up the top of your library. Oh, did I mention it costs two mana and is a common? If I haven’t made it obvious enough, this is a very high pick. As a side note, with all of the Scry cards in the new set, Erratic Mutation has gotten significantly better.
Marshalling Cry
1WW
Sorcery
Creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain vigilance until end of turn.
Cycling 2
Flashback 3W
I think I like this, but I’ll have to see it in action to be sure. The best card is that it’s a “free” spell since you’ll almost always cycle it and then just cast it later. It combos well with Even The Odds – which makes three soldier tokens if you have less creatures than your opponent – and also with other things like Icatian Crier or Saprolings. The only thing really holding this card back from being a true monster is the fact that it’s a sorcery. on’t forget too that you can run this off-color if you just need a 23rd card, or if you have some way to flash it back like Prismatic Lens in the late game.
Lumithread Field
1W
Enchantment
Creatures you control get +0/+1.
Morph 1W
As anyone I play with regularly will tell you, I love the morph mechanic. I’ve run more off-color morphs than I care to remember, and now that morph is on things other than creatures I think I’m in heaven. I’m not going to do a separate section on the Zoetic Cavern, which is the colorless Land with morph, because MagictheGathering.com already covered it. Suffice to say that these are both amazing cards even if their only applications were to flip after damage on the stack and net a card. The fact that you can just cast this as a Parapet or play the Land face up makes them both amazing. The only thing going against this card is that previously White had no morphs, but that has all changed with Gathan Raiders and Zoetic Cavern also as possibilities.
Foresee
3U
Sorcery
Scry 4, then draw two cards.
I really like this card. It feels like it could be even better than Compulsive Research was in RGD, but only time will tell if the extra mana will hold it back or not. Obviously it’s unlikely to make it in Constructed, because it’s a sorcery and you can’t Mystical Teachings for it, but in Draft this is exactly what the Blue mage needed. Pre-Future Sight the card drawing has been slim pickings unless you were lucky enough to get Fathom Seer, Careful Consideration, or possibly multiple Think Twice. I’m definitely eager to try this one out.
Infiltrator il-Kor
4U
Shadow
Suspend 2 – 1U
3/1
If the past two sets have given any clue, suspend is freaking awesome. This guy hits almost as hard as Ephemeron and is two turns faster to get started. The other factors at work are that his evasion is better than that of the 4/4 flier, but he’s also much more vulnerable. I’m not sure exactly how to rate him just yet as he seems very good but also susceptible to all of the pingers and the Charms from Planar Chaos. Definitely a strong card, but I think it would’ve been amazing at 3/2 and suspend 3.
Bonded Fetch
2U
Defender, haste
Tap: Draw a card, then discard a card.
0/2
Since when did Looter need to attack or block effectively anyway?
This card is primarily awesome because of Haste. Another big factor here is that, unlike Looter il-Kor, he has two toughness and can actually chump block in the late game. Now that there are loads of Madness cards in the format I imagine this guy will be very annoying to play against. One big downside is that his existence makes Crookclaw Transmuter and Merfolk Thaumaturgist that much better.
Logic Knot
XUU
Instant
Delve
Counter target spell unless its controller pays X.
I already love this card. Power Sink and other variants were always good in Limited and this card seems like it should be even better due to Delve. Unlike in Odyssey block you don’t have to worry about keeping threshold, so you can just remove any cards that don’t matter and also pay mana, making this about as close to a hard counter as you can get. The fact that you can combine mana and cards in graveyard or just counter something for UU in the late game really puts this over the top. It’s not a super high pick, but it should be awesome in Constructed and very playable in Limited.
Grave Peril
1B
Enchantment
When a nonblack creature comes into play, sacrifice Grave Peril. If you do, destroy that creature.
The main reason I mention this card is because I’ve already heard a couple of decent players say that they think it’s good. What exactly is good about this card!?
To take a hint from the past, Standstill was always pretty crappy in Limited. The main reason for this was obviously that it was too situational to be good, and you had to be sure you were ahead on board before dropping it. It seems to me that the same things apply to Grave Peril, except that the punishment for breaking the rules isn’t nearly as bad as letting the opponent draw three cards. So let’s get this straight: when this card works, you are setting up a one for one on their worst non-Black creature. I suppose in a mono Black deck where you can’t trigger it, this is acceptable, but in every other situation it seems like far too much effort for not enough potential reward.
Putrid Cyclops
2B
When Putrid Cyclops comes into play, scry 1, then reveal the top card of your library. Putrid Cyclops gets –X/-X until end of turn where X is that card’s converted mana cost.
3/3
This card is something I’m still not sure about. My initial feeling is that this is very deck dependent and that you can happily run it in a deck with a low curve so that it is very unlikely to kill itself with its own ability. If you can pull it off on a regular basis, then this guy is far ahead of the curve in terms of Black creatures in this format, and therefore very worthwhile. It’s worth noting that the Scry 1 on this card is actually deceptive, since you are probably not going to Scry if there is a land on top even if you’re a bit flooded (unless you’re the gambling type). His abilities are an odd combination, even if they do seem to fit together at first glance.
Deepcavern Imp
2B
Creature — Imp Rebel
Flying, haste
Echo – Discard a card
2/2
I have mixed feelings on this card. If you ever search it up with Amrou Scout or Blightspeaker it is obviously amazing, but if you are planning on casting it on your own then I’m less sure of its value. The problem is that unless you’re using the Echo as a Madness outlet, anyone with removal will get a free two for one on you here at the low cost of taking two damage. Even worse is when someone bounces it after the Echo has been played and you then get into a situation where you have to try to get it to stick again. Finally, since it’s only a 2/2 flier, I’m really just not that impressed. My guess for now is that this is a specialty card for Rebels and Madness but not great on its own.
Bogardan Lancer
1R
Bloodthirst 1
Flanking
1/1
I liked this guy initially until I had a conversation with a good friend who pointed out that you are going to a lot of effort just to get a discounted Blazing Blade Askari. I think my friend is probably right here and this guy is playable but unexciting at best. The lesson here is just because Bloodthirst kicked ass in the past doesn’t mean that tacking a bunch of abilities onto a small guy will make it into a good card.
Kavu Primarch
3G
Convoke
Kicker — 4
If the kicker cost was paid, Kavu Primarch comes into play with four +1/+1 counters on it.
3/3
If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a huge fan of the mix and match mechanics. This guy is good in combination with Saprolings and we all know how good Green is at doing that in this block. When I first read this I thought he had Trample and was just straight up better than Siege Wurm, but unfortunately he can be chumped. I guess this just makes Strength in Numbers even better than before (if that were possible).
Sprout Swarm
1G
Instant
Convoke
Buyback 3
Put a 1/1 Saproling creature token into play.
This card combos with itself, if that’s how you want to look at it. The best part here is that it’s an instant, which will allow you to “go off” on your opponent’s end step while leaving up mana in case you need to do something better. I have a feeling that this will get out of hand very fast. Lab Rats was always playable, and that was a sorcery and didn’t have Convoke. When you throw in the fact that this combos with Germinator or any of the other Saproling effects, you have the making of a very good tool for the Green player.
That should be enough for this week, even though it’s only the tip of the iceberg. I will definitely have some more concrete information after a whole week of drafting the set, so I’ll be bringing that to you in the some form whether it’s archetypes, card valuations, or simply another “focus on specific cards” piece. Hopefully you had fun at the prerelease, as I think Wizards did a great job with this set. I’m looking forward to putting the pieces together in terms of figuring out how to draft TPF effectively.
Nick Eisel
Soooooo on MTGO
[email protected]