The more that leaks in about Future Sight, the more the set looks like a giant marketing scheme. I’d complain, but frankly, I think it’s better for the game.
What am I talking about? Well, the rumors floating around suggest 49 keywords in the set, including several previous abilities being keyworded, such as the "Spirit Link" ability becoming Lifelink and the "Spider ability" becoming Reach. They can test the waters with this set. It’s been said that anything that shows up as Timeshifted (or, perhaps, Future-shifted) may or may not be seen again in the future. Discussions I’ve seen suggest that this will be based mostly on what we as players tell them we like, and what we kvetch about. That seems like a pretty reasonable theory to me.
I think I approve.
I mean, assuming that’s the angle they’re taking, they can throw literally anything in this set, and then use their crack marketing team to find out what’s hot and what’s not and decide what to give us more of and what to lock away in a dark vault, never to see light of day again. And it’s more than just, say, doing an article on what Might Have Been with the color Purple, and leaving us hanging when it comes to actual implementation. The difference here being we’re going to get to test and play the cards and then decide what we think. They could print a Basic Creature here, like they’d considered doing with Relentless Rats, and find out if it really is confusing to people, or if it’s something we’d like to see more of. Want to find out if a mechanic from an Un-set might be usable outside of silver-bordered land? They can do it here. There is no thematic prison here like one would expect typically in a third set. They do not need to represent the last three guilds, the Kami War, the changes of the Fifth Dawn… anything. There’s some expectations of seeing Suspend, Flash, and other block mechanics, sure. But story wise? Sky’s the limit, man.
Third set, too, so we’re all expecting them to go a little nuts. They always manage to surprise us and fool with stuff we never thought they would. It’s a cruel game they play, continually giving us our security blanket, and then taking it away, setting it on fire, and scattering its ashes to the wind. And we love every second of it, even if the cards that result aren’t as awesome as we thought they were. But it’s always cool that They Went There, Relentless Rats again being a prime example. They made a card that broke the rules, but didn’t break the game, or even the format. I’d speculate that this may be one of the craziest sets they’ll ever do for Magic, but I know they’ll always find a way to dig deeper into the pit of madness.
The Burning Issue: Core Set Cram
The basic issue I’m going for is this – could Tenth, or even Eleventh Edition, use the Planeshifted cards from Planar Chaos to shake up the basic identity of the game on a permanent basis and benefit it while doing so? For example, Harmonize and Mesa Enchantress; Green is supposed to be the #2 card drawing color, or at least I haven’t heard anything from Wizards contradicting that since they last stated it (which was admittedly some time ago), and White is supposed to be the color for enchantments… so why not use these cards to synch things up to be more like that? Put ’em in the Core Set. Keen Sense and Essence Warden too, while we’re in Green. Green’s the creature color, and Essence Warden rewards that. Plus, I think it helps new players with the concept that sometimes a bunch of little guys are better than one big fattie. Seal of Primordium over Naturalize would be neat, too. The effect itself is still instant, and it’s nice to make a down payment on it and then carry on.
In White, Mana Tithe and Sunlance strike me as potentially Core Set worthy, alongside Mesa Enchantress as discussed above. Sunlance could go in over that awful Vengeance we can’t seem to ever get rid of. Especially since most people new enough to think Vengeance is a good card usually end up using it on something Sunlance could have killed anyhow. Mana Tithe is one of those cheap effects that White Weenie so loves that can be crucial to a victory. Stopping Wrath, or even holding it off for just one turn as they play around it, can totally change the outcome of a game. I also like how Sunlance plays into White’s togetherness theme, although in a slightly xenophobic way. But I also don’t see anything wrong with that.
Blue? Serendib Sorcerer seems pretty viable. It also works to hose the "one big fattie" strategy its enemy colors often pursue, which is fine. Besides, Red will just Seal of Fire / Shock / Incinerate it. Makes for interesting board positions in Limited too, I think. Primal Plasma wouldn’t risk breaking anything, although I’m not certain it would risk being played, either. I personally like it, as I always enjoy versatile cards where at least most of the options are useful. Serra Sphinx would be the other call I’d make. Yes, okay, Vigilance isn’t typically Blue, but I sort of want to push the Sphinx type – besides, maybe the Core Set should give new players an introduction to the fact that R&D likes to break the rules. Talen’s suggestion was more that it would allow Wizards to replace the Angel with an actual good iconic flier. I argued that Angel was good enough to be the only creature in my Core Set Constructed deck, but I’ll concede it’s not typically quite good enough in Standard. I asked Talen what he’d replace her with, and he said therein lies the problem. He suggested first printing a better Avenging Angel (4/3 or with Vigilance) in an Expert Set first. Me, I’d like to see Serra Avenger get two years in an environment without Spell Snare and Repeal in it. I don’t see it as overly confusing to anyone who can count to four.
For Black, I’d say Kor Dirge is delightfully cruel and an interesting form of removal. That it gives Black a way to protect a creature – at least against other decks playing creatures – is acceptable. I worry only that it might be too confusing for Core Set. Null Profusion is… interesting. My only vote against it on the assumption that it would replace Phyrexian Arena, which seems to be the perfect Black draw engine. Not too powerful to be broken, not too expensive in any resource to be bad. I certainly wouldn’t want to give it up for a six-mana card. Maybe Profusion over Phyrexian Gargantua. Heh. And yeah, we all know the other card I’d pick, so let’s not even go there. Core Set mass removal in Black would be super cool to have – especially if, as I previously speculated, it might give an excuse to reprint a ‘Geddon (or variant) over in White.
Lastly, in Red, I’d love to see Pyrohemia stick around / come back. The art, the flavor of the card, and of course the mechanics…everything about this card seems great. Back in the day, all new players eventually built a Pestilence deck. I say go for it, let ’em do it again. They’re fun, effective, and sometimes even teach people the lesson that hurting yourself for a good cause can be well worth it. Prodigal Pyromancer is basically a given, since he should always have been in the Core Set anyhow, technically speaking. He’s probably already slated for Tenth. Blood Knight is my other pick, especially if Paladin en-Vec remains in the Core Set. I know he’s way, way over the curve for typical two-drops in Red, though. I can’t champion Brute Force however, since it a) wouldn’t make sense in the same set as Giant Growth, which I can’t see replacing for it, and b) I still don’t like a toughness pump in Red. Simian Spirit Guide might be a nice choice. Talen suggested Shivan Wumpus, but neither of us are sure if it could be done with the Trample reminder text.
Overall, the idea is that these cards, or the mechanics / abilities they represent would bring an interesting new set of tools to the Core Set, which have proven to not totally destroy the game despite being outside of their originally concepted colors. It’s not the best time to go on about this, I know, with Tenth probably already done or close to it, and goodness knows what else might be worthy for Eleventh by the time it’s up-and-coming, but so it goes.
Ze Decklist – Format this week: Block Constructed (Time Spiral)
I had an impulse, an urge, an inspiration. I wanted to build around a card, and the first thing in my head was "Well, may as well take land out of the deck editor filter, since I couldn’t really build a deck around a land."
Or could I?
I looked through the lands in block and, sure enough, there it was sitting. Swarmyard. I only had two, but that could be fixed if needed. So I start looking up the applicable creature types. No Rats or Squirrels in block. Huh. Well, that put a damper on things. What about Spiders? Two. Ugh. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea…
Insects? Hey now. Yeah, I can work with this, and how. Plenty of options here, several of which don’t even embarrass me. Initially, I did some experimenting with Jhoira’s Timebug and a bunch of Suspend spells, but the Bug just ended up being bad, since it wasn’t worth regenerating unless my opponent was tapping out to try to kill it or I had multiple Swarmyards out to protect my more important critters. I tried Unyaro Bees for awhile, too, but I often just ended up using them as seven mana Shocks. Not very good. So what did I end up with?
Creatures (19)
Lands (24)
Spells (17)
Another budget deck, although not really on purpose. The Bugs ended up becoming Evolution Charms and the Bees ended up as card draw, especially since the deck kept running out of gas, not to mention that it wanted to search for more of its removal. Yeah, Terramorphic Expanse should probably be in there, but I wanted to be able to suspend first turn Search for Tomorrow or Greater Gargadon. Search preferred, as this deck has a lot to do with four mana, and would like to start doing it turn three.
What the deck does: Pester your opponent with continual raids by difficult to kill creatures. Everything except the Gargadon can be saved with Swarmyard, assuming regeneration isn’t prohibited by the method of destruction. And if it is, sacrifice the creature to feed a suspended Gargy if possible. This is especially fun with Penumbra Spider who leaves a buddy on the way out, and Evolution Charm which can get Gargy or Penumbra back, fetch a land if you’re desperate, or make Gargy fly. That’s especially fun. Giant Dustwasp patrols the skies, either as a regenerating block if your opponent is outclassing it, or to poke away at someone representing no fliers. Needlepeak Spider’s low toughness is much less annoying when it can be repeatedly regenerated in the face of destruction. Ditto for Nantuko Shaman, who also makes for a fine cantrip to keep the cards moving. Rift Bolt and Shivan Meteor function as removal. Just hope your opponent isn’t playing Stuffy Doll. Harmonize is the perfect hand-filler for this deck, since you tend to do most everything else at Sorcery speed anyhow. I considered Sulfurous Blast for awhile, but I didn’t like it with only Penumbra and Gargy surviving a main phase one without regeneration assistance. Tokens can be problematic though, so maybe… ugh… Subterranean Shambler? Never mind, that thing is too awful.
Who the deck is for: People who like to bug their opponents. Yeah, I know, not funny. But it had to be said somewhere. The deck as is isn’t really suited for anyone in particular, other than maybe someone else who was curious about what Swarmyard was capable of in block. The one thing it really has going for it is variety. You’ve got mid-sized ground pounders, a giant ground pounder, resilient creatures, a sacrifice outlet, and Evolution Charm does practically everything but your taxes. The down side has to do with a very heavy four-drop slot and only a little acceleration. I admit, the deck is not going to steamroll everything you come across, but it’s been very fun for me, and flat out awful decks don’t amuse me, so it’s at least somewhat decent. Don’t worry, I’ve got something a little better planned for next week. This deck is not for Spike, but he knew this. It’s a midrange deck, just one that won’t be accumulating any Pro Tour points any time soon. Or ever, really, but hey.
What to watch out for: Artifacts, enchantments, mass removal. Yep, I need to start building decks that don’t bend over to all of those. Again, something planned next week. Wow, the sheer novelty of having a plan in advance is making me giddy. (Actually, that’s the aforementioned sulfur fumes. They cause brain damage.) On the bright side, you do have some removal resistance. I played one game against a guy sporting Magus of the Disk, while I had two Penumbra Spiders, and Swarmyard, and a Giant Dustwasp. He ended up using two Magi to get rid of the Spiders and still had the Wasp to deal with. You’re in pretty good shape barring Black if you get multiple Swarmyards out. I’m hoping they never print a card like Swarmyard for Goblins, Zombies, Elves, and Slivers. Heh. Shame it targets or I’d have loved to see what I could do with Deadly Grub / Deadly Insect.
Until then, insert the name of your own favorite Austin guitarist, and have fun with the joke.
Signing off,
Rivien Swanson
flawedparadigm a(aye Carumba!)t gmaSPAMSUCKSil d(.)ot co[Love, laughter, and truth.]m
Flawed Paradigm on MTGO (when I actually log in)