Preamble:
Before I start, let me just say that I’ve never written a set review before. This is going to be a new experience for me and probably going to be a little bit different for you than some set reviews you have read in the past. I am going to rate the cards the way I think about Constructed Magic (yes, this is a Constructed set review). Rather than doing a *-*****/***** system (something that I don’t really understand in general), I’m going to rate cards like this:
Constructed Unplayable
This card should not be played in Constructed under any normal circumstances and will never generally be found in a competitive Constructed deck. Example: Chimney Imp, Giant Cockroach
Playable – Role Player
This card is either unspectacular and competing with cards that do the same thing more efficiently or useful in only a limited number of decks. For whatever reason (redundancy, lack of better alternatives), the card is good enough to fill a role in a reasonable Constructed deck. Example: Shatter, Shock
Playable – Staple
This card is played in whatever decks and strategies where it would be appropriate, almost without question. When the card is absent, that is when we start asking questions. Example: Birds of Paradise, Sakura-Tribe Elder
Playable – Flagship
This card has a powerful or unique effect, so much so that we build decks around it rather than fitting it into decks. Quite often the presence of this card allows for new archetypes to be explored. In some cases, those archetypes are not very good (but without their flagships, we would never even ask the question). Example: Mind’s Desire, Upheaval, Balancing Act, Replenish
White Cards:
Auratouched Mage 5W
Creature – Human Wizard Uncommon
When Auratouched Mage comes into play, search your library for an Aura card that could enchant it. If Auratouched Mage is still in play, attach that Aura to it. Otherwise, reveal the Aura card and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
3/3
At first I thought this card was powerful, but that its cost was a little too steep for Constructed deck. Then I realized Auratouched Mage is almost a direct translation to Godo, Bandit Warlord from Red to White. It costs the same and has a similar effect. The main differences are that Equipment is at least conditionally more flexible and powerful than Auras and that Godo has a fairly potent second ability. That said, Godo was a straight up bomb in Constructed due to Jitte and the Dragon’s Fang, so that seems to imply that if you have a good enough Aura, you might be able to do some serious damage. Flight of Fancy is a decent candidate, Galvanic Arc lets you play Flametongue Kavu, and Followed Footsteps has almost scary potential. I think that Auratouched Mage is more likely to become the centerpiece of a deck than Godo, which was played in all kinds of decks from three-color beatdown to Gifts Ungiven, but never really the central strategy.
All that said, Auratouched Mage costs too much for me to give it a “Playable – Flagship” rating for now.
Playable – Role Player (possible Flagship)
Bathe in Light 1W
Instant Uncommon
Radiance – Choose a color. Target creature and each other creature that shares a color with it gain protection from the chosen color until end of turn.
This is a great trick as long as you are careful. It is sort of like a Blessed Breath that can have a steep upside and a potential downside depending on what your opponent is playing. For example, if you are gaming the Boros Legion against the Selesnya Conclave, it is unlikely you can crash both teams into a “damage on the stack” bloodbath leaving only one team; as both decks are full of White creatures – even though half are R/W and the other G/W, all will be Bathed in Light. On the other hand, there was an entire block based around Reverent Mantra and consecutive Alpha Strikes against decks of the same color, so Bathe in Light has Constructed precedent… but probably not in the main deck unless the metagame looks really skewed.
Playable – Role Player
Benevolent Ancestor 2W
Creature – Spirit Common
Defender
Tap: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn.
0/4
#3/306
To my knowledge, no one ever played Alabaster Wall in Constructed deck. Benevolent Ancestor is a Spirit, so it has some halfway interesting interactions, but I can’t imagine that this card will be very good, or even a commonly played sideboard card.
Constructed Unplayable
Blazing Archon 6WWW
Creature – Archon Rare
Flying
Creatures can’t attack you.
5/6
“Through the haze of battle I saw the glint of sun on golden mane, the sheen of glory clad in mail, and I dropped my sword and wept at the idiocy of war” – Dravin, Gruul deserter
Honestly, for a creature with mana cost nine, Blazing Archon isn’t that exciting to me. You’d think that it would at least have Protection from Black.
No one is going to summon this at retail. If it gets played at all, it will be in a deck with Zombify or the equivalent. In the case that it comes out at some sort of discount, I’d hope that Blazing Archon would at least win the game, but that isn’t automatic.
Playable – Role Player
Boros Fury-Shield 2W
Instant Common
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt by target attacking or blocking creature this turn. If R was spent to play Boros Fury-Shield, it deals damage to that creature’s controller equal to the creature’s power.
I want to give this card “Playable – Role Player” status, but Kor Chant got almost no Constructed love back in the day, and this card is more restrictive and not quite as strong or flexible. It’s still a potential two-for-one… but it probably isn’t going to make the cut in the sixty-card decks unless the format is all White Weenie on StOmPy or some such.
Constructed Unplayable
Caregiver W
Creature – Human Cleric Common
W ,Sacrifice a creature: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn.
1/1
At first glance, it seems Caregiver is kind of like Benevolent Bodyguard’s overpriced cousin… who rode onto the vast white Plains on the short bus. Benevolent Bodyguard was okay but unspectacular, and Caregiver actually has a less spectacular effect… that also attaches a specific mana cost. However, on the other hand, the fact that you can sacrifice any creature rather than the Caregiver only does give it some potential merit.
Another card that has a similar ability – but also a conditionally less steep cost – is Field Surgeon. Unlike Benevolent Bodyguard, no one gamed with Field Surgeon… although to be fair, Caregiver doesn’t require the creatures sacrificed to be untapped; Field Surgeon couldn’t go in aggressive decks, for example.
Finally, a nice point in favor of Caregiver is to treat it as a late game card rather than a one-drop; in that case, it can probably work with token generators for some game impact going long. It certainly has some interesting applications, and in the wrong situations, will bother Red Decks.
Playable – Role Player
Chant of Vitu-Ghazi 6WW
Instant Uncommon
Convoke (Each creature you tap while playing this spell reduces its cost by 1 or by one mana of that creature’s color.)
Prevent all damage that would be dealt by creatures this turn.
You gain 1 life for each damage prevented this way.
I don’t really cotton to playing cards that cost eight, but I would be willing to do so if they won the game immediately. The most I would be willing to spend for any spell that didn’t just win would be, say, four. Even assuming that Chant of Vitu-Ghazi would win the game at a reasonable cost, you’d need four creatures and four mana open on your opponent’s Big Turn, or up to eight creatures if you didn’t have any mana open.
How likely is that?
Second, say his Big Turn is on the back of something like a giant Sutured Ghoul. What keeps him from just attacking you later, after your Chant? It’s not like this card actually depletes any non-recursive damage sources. I suppose it could give you a giant race lead so that you could start Alpha Striking, but I don’t know if I’d play eight casters for such a narrow application… Oh wait, I do know.
Constructed Unplayable
Concerted Effort 2WW
Enchantment Rare
At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, if a creature you control has flying, all creatures you control gain flying until end of turn. The same is true for fear, first strike, double strike, landwalk, protection, trample, and vigilance.
At first, this card seems really powerful. It’s like a combination of Wonder, Filth, Brawn, and a host of other powerful effects. However, look at what you are getting for what you are paying. What is the likelihood that the incremental value of a four-mana enchantment is greater than the value of another Good Man? In the case of Crusade or the like, it is easy to see… with more guys, you get much more damage for 2-3 mana than you would with a single White Weenie. However, it is not so simple with Concerted Effort.
Not only are you paying twice the cost of a Crusade, you are not getting a universally strong effect. Though far-reaching in its application, Concerted Effort is really only good in creature-on-creature fights. Yes, in those kinds of matchups it can give you an advantage, but unless you have a pre-existing double striker, you aren’t getting very much against control or combination decks… and against those, a four mana enchantment is probably too slow and too narrow for main deck.
Playable – Role Player (probably sideboard, if anything)
Conclave Equenaut 4WW
Creature – Human Soldier Common
Convoke (Each creature you tap while playing this spell reduces its cost by 1 or by one mana of that creature’s color.)
Flying
3/3
Clearly you don’t want to be paying six mana for a 3/3 flyer. You probably don’t want to be paying five or in most cases four. You might pay four, but not like it when you have Celestial Kirin at the “same” cost with a much more powerful effect. If you already have a critical mass of creatures, it is possible that Conclave Equenaut could have some kind of Affinity-style Somber Hoverguard potential, but you’d probably need a good reason not to be rushing with your creatures. Unless the metagame comes out quite strangely, I don’t see this card as being very good.
Constructed Unplayable
Conclave Phalanx 4W
Creature – Human Soldier Uncommon
Convoke (Each creature you tap while playing this spell reduces its cost by 1 or by one mana of that creature’s color.)
When Conclave Phalanx comes into play, you gain 1 life for each creature you control.
2/4
This card isn’t actually that bad. A 2/4 for five mana is unspectacular, to be sure, but Angel of Mercy skirts Constructed playability at 3/3 flying for five mana, and she has less of a potential upside than this card. Sure, you might only be gaining one life, but in standoff games, Conclave Phalanx might give you 50 life, too, as well as a decent body. It’s nothing to write home about… but also nothing to write off at this point. Staunch Defenders, a very similar card, saw play in Block and Standard.
Playable – Role Player
Conclave’s Blessing 3W
Enchantment – Aura Common
Enchant creature
Convoke (Each creature you tap while playing this spell reduces its cost by 1 or by one mana of that creature’s color.)
Enchanted creature gets +0/+2 for each other creature you control.
You don’t make friends with toughness.
Constructed Unplayable
Courier Hawk 1W
Creature – Bird Common
Flying, vigilance
1/2
This card costs about twice as much mana as it should to see any play. For the past year or two, people have been playing a full complement of Suntail Hawks and Lantern Kamis… I don’t think that they would dip to a second mana with no second power, vigilance or no. Anyway, who blocks?
Constructed Unplayable
Devouring Light 1WW
Instant Uncommon
Convoke (Each creature you tap while playing this spell reduces its cost by 1 or by one mana of that creature’s color.)
Remove target attacking or blocking creature from the game.
This card isn’t quite Wing Shards, but it also can take down big walls or regenerators on defense. It’s no Swords to Plowshares, but the fact that this card will be viable – in sideboards at the very least – is probably a testament to the status of present White versus way back when White.
I think Devouring Light would make the cut without Convoke, but the Convoke makes this a powerful trick in Limited and surprisingly relevant in Constructed. For example, the opponent can bring four creatures against your five untapped mana; you can play Scatter the Seeds, block all but the biggest creature, and then Convoke out the kill. It might also be relevant in combo situations where a creature deck is forced to be aggressive with its mana to race, but also runs the risk of losing to a big creature such as a Sutured Ghoul.
Playable – Staple
Divebomber Griffin 3WW
Creature – Griffin Uncommon
Flying
Tap, Sacrifice Divebomber Griffin: Divebomber Griffin deals 3 damage to target attacking or blocking creature.
3/2
The Tap part of this creature’s activation cost is the straw that broke the camel’s back. If it had vigilance, Divebomber Griffin would probably not be good enough… as it stands, a 3/2 for five that might not be allowed to attack is just not going to ring any bells.
Constructed Unplayable.
Dromad Purebred 4W
Creature – Beast Common
Whenever Dromad Purebred is dealt damage, you gain 1 life.
1/5
In a long game, you might be able to gain a huge amount of life with Dromad Purebred, and from that perspective, it is quite interesting… The only problem is that it costs five mana, and I don’t pay five mana for creatures that don’t protect my lands from Molten Rain while making 1/1 flyers, or at least evade removal spells. Certainly I don’t play 1/5 creatures. [Jon Becker might, but I don’t think he plays White. – Knut]
Constructed Unplayable
Faith’s Fetters 3W
Enchantment – Aura Common
Enchant permanent
When Faith’s Fetters comes into play, you gain 4 life.
Enchanted permanent’s activated abilities can’t be played unless they’re mana abilities.
If enchanted permanent is a creature, it can’t attack or block.
This card is clearly not good enough for Constructed all by its lonesome, but I could see it as a lifegain “silver bullet” in an Auratouched Mage deck or something along those very narrow lines. People don’t play Pacifism at two mana, I don’t know that gaining four life makes it much more attractive at four.
Playable – Role Player
Festival of the Guildpact XW
Instant Uncommon
Prevent the next X damage that would be dealt to you this turn. Draw a card.
Pros:
- It costs one less than Shining Shoal.
- Some decks would rather draw a card than redirect damage.
- Festival of the Guildpact is probably more effective in the early game than Shining Shoal.
- It is highly flexible. For example, Festival of the Guildpact can defend against damage from more than once source.
Cons:
- Unlike Shining Shoal, Festival of the Guildpact has no alternate casting cost.
- It is potentially expensive to play when compared with cards like Curtain of Light.
Playable – Role Player (though fairly narrow)
Flickerform 1W
Enchantment – Aura Rare
Enchant creature
2WW: Remove enchanted creature and all Auras attached to it from the game. At end of turn, return that card to play under its owner’s control. If you do, return those Auras to play under their owners’ control enchanting that creature.
If the format is slow enough, this card can potentially wreak long game havoc with Auratouched Mage. You can block, put damage on the stack, make Auratouched Mage disappear; when he comes back (along with his buddy Flickerform), Auratouched Mage can get more and more enchantments over time… none of which ever “die” when he leaves play. This isn’t a generally great card, but it might be a one-of in certain decks.
Playable – Role Player
Gate Hound 2W
Creature – Hound Common
Creatures you control have vigilance as long as Gate Hound is enchanted.
1/1
If you 1) invest a card in Gate Hound, and 2) invest a card in an enchantment for it, you get… nothing. Who blocks? No. One. Blocks.
Constructed Unplayable
Ghosts of the Innocent 5WW
Creature – Spirit Rare
If a source would deal damage to a creature or player, it deals half that damage, rounded down, to that creature or player instead.
4/5
I don’t know why you would ever want to play this card. I mean, it probably serves some sort of purpose, and takes the starch out of cards like Meloku and Verdant Force, but why play it? This thing costs seven mana. I suppose no one would ever get through it, and that would be something. If you wanted to really go for the peak of Everest, you would play this card with Sensei’s Divining Top and try for the Slowest Deck Ever (though Sun Droplet is leaving Standard when Ghosts of the Innocent comes in).
Playable – Role Player (but not in any self-respecting deck)
Hour of Reckoning 4WWW
Sorcery Rare
Convoke (Each creature you tap while playing this spell reduces its cost by 1 or by one mana of that creature’s color.)
Destroy all nontoken creatures.
This card has natural synergy with the new Kjeldoran Outpost, both on the Convoke and effect sides. Very solid, though you can expect to pay seven mana plenty often. Like every bad Wrath of God reprint from Winds of Rath to Kirtar’s Justice, this card will be a staple in Block.
Playable – Staple
Hunted Lammasu 2WW
Creature – Lammasu Rare
Flying
When Hunted Lammasu comes into play, put a 4/4 black Horror creature token into play under target opponent’s control.
5/5
Let’s go!
See my overall review of Cycles for more information. [This article will be published later in this series. – Knut]
Playable – Role Player
Leave No Trace 1W
Instant Common
Radiance – Destroy target enchantment and each other enchantment that shares a color with it.
This card is interesting, potentially powerful, and potentially a little bit unpredictable, too. It costs less than Cleanfall and is an instant… but is probably worse against a deck like Hondens. It gives you a nice out at the end of the opponent’s turn, which can help against, say, a Honden of Infinite Rage + Form of the Dragon without the loss of a creature.
Regardless of the details, this card is a solid role player; it is just a matter of the context. In a G/W deck you would not play this card over Naturalize (though you might play it alongside). On the other hand, this card can almost single-handedly beat a deck based around Enduring Ideal into Confiscates; you can wait around because it’s not like the opponent is going to kill you any time soon.
Playable – Role Player
Light of Sanction 1WW
Enchantment Rare
Prevent all damage that would be dealt to creatures you control by sources you control.
At nine mana, you get some friendly Wildfire.
If this is good, it is only good in decks that would make my head hurt to think about. Next.
Constructed Unplayable
Loxodon Gatekeeper 2WW
Creature – Elephant Soldier Rare
Artifacts, creatures, and lands your opponents control come into play tapped.
2/3
This card has some really nice potential. I am not crazy about 2/3 for four mana, but Hokori was 2/2 for four mana and ruined a lot of people’s days. Alongside Hokori, the Loxodon Gatekeeper can be the nail in the coffin.
Playable – Role Player
Nightguard Patrol 2W
Creature – Human Soldier Common
First strike, Vigilance
2/1
He’s no Kitsune Blademaster.
Constructed Unplayable
Oathsworn Giant 4WW
Creature – Giant Soldier Uncommon
Vigilance
Other creatures you control get +0/+2 and have vigilance.
3/4
The ability is nice… It’s just that I’m not interested in playing six-drop 3/4s in swarm decks.
Yawn.
Constructed Unplayable
Sandsower 3W
Creature – Spirit Uncommon
Tap three untapped creatures you control: Tap target creature.
1/3
The sad thing is, they can take flying away, leave the same converted mana cost, take away a point of toughness, reduce it to being able to hit creatures rather than any kind of permanent, demote Boomerang to Twiddle, and change its color… and Tradewind Rider still demands a second look.
I am by no means bowled over by this card, but it would be foolish to dismiss it out of hand immediately. In the right deck, it is like a poor Opposition, but maybe a poor Opposition is Opposition enough for viability. I’m not holding my breath, but I’m also not going to call it a blank given the Saproling generation possibilities in Ravnica.
Playable – Role Player
Screeching Griffin 3W
Creature – Griffin Common
Flying
R: Target creature can’t block Screeching Griffin this turn.
2/2
I’m sure it’s a reasonable draft pick.
Constructed Unplayable
Seed Spark 3W
Instant Uncommon
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. If G was spent to play Seed
Spark, put two 1/1 green Saproling creature tokens into play.
Seed Spark is not a card you would ever play in mono-White in Constructed unless you really, really need artifact destruction. Even in Block, Leave No Trace should just be better for enchantment kill.
Otherwise, this card is quite close to being the world’s worst Aura Mutation… but has enough Artifact Mutation thrown in that it just might make the cut. In straight White, you’d have to have a pretty good reason to pick this over Terashi’s Grasp in Standard, and you would never play it in Extended, but in G/W… I don’t know. You wouldn’t play it over Naturalize, but you might play it somewhere. It certainly has potential due to that last line.
Do I like it? No. Would I play it? If I had to.
Playable – Role Player
Suppression Field 1W
Enchantment Uncommon
Activated abilities cost 2 more to play unless they’re mana abilities.
This past summer, Damping Matrix took White Weenie from nowhere and nothing and made it a Tier One archetype. The theory was that every good deck was hosed by Damping Matrix, so only a poor deck with no legitimately powerful effects of its own could take advantage of it. Arc-Sloggers were merely giant monsters, Kiki didn’t do any Jiki’ing, and no one’s Mind was taken over until the Oblivion Stone came up… and that didn’t work very well, either. Happiness resulted.
This card doesn’t shut abilities off completely, but it costs less than Damping Matrix and leaves White’s buddies alone for the most part. Solid role player with maindeck potential.
Playable – Role Player (possible staple)
Three Dreams 4W
Sorcery Rare
Search your Library for up to three Aura cards with different names, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
“Choose one to heal, one to harm, and one to grant you the prudence to use them.” – Miotrim, auratouched mage
I’ll play pretty much anything that says “draw three.” I played Inspiration for four mana, and that only gave me two. This card could very well give you Threads of Disloyalty, Annex, and Confiscate. It might even serve as an engine component in a legitimate power deck.
Playable – Role Player (possible Flagship)
Twilight Drover 2W
Creature – Spirit Rare
Whenever a creature token leaves play, put a +1/+1 counter on Twilight Drover.
2W, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Twilight Drover: Put two 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying into play.
1/1
This card has the potential to get out of hand and can generate potentially massive card advantage. Probably it needs some Saprolings to help get it started, but after the first creature – hopefully with damage on the stack – Twilight Drover can make much mana.
The downside to this creature is, of course, that all creatures do is die. 2/1 for 2W is hardly what I would call robust, and many of the decks that would be overrun by Twilight Drover can simply kill it before anything terrible happens. On the other hand, decks without targeted removal (say G/W perhaps) will probably have a hard time with this card in the very long game. Given sufficient mana, it’s probably next to impossible to win an attrition war against Twilight Drover. He’s not quite Meloku and won’t be as ubiquitous as Wild Mongrel, but this card should win some games.
Playable – Role Player
Veteran Armorer 1W
Creature – Human Soldier Common
Other creatures you control get +0/+1.
2/2
This card should be a nice fit in any number of archetypes. He’s not great on his own, but he helps swarm strategies, pulls your team out of Pyroclasm range (as long as he himself doesn’t die, of course), and can ensure that fights are won and combat becomes difficult for the opponent.
Playable – Staple.
Votary of the Conclave W
Creature – Human Soldier Common
2G: Regenerate Votary of the Conclave.
1/1
The ability is just way too expensive. If White dips into essentially vanilla 1/1 creatures for one mana as Red sometimes does, this guy will be near the head of the pack, but I don’t see him competing with Suntail Hawk, let alone Isamaru.
Constructed Unplayable
Wojek Apothecary 2WW
Creature – Human Cleric Uncommon
Radiance – Tap: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature and each other creature that shares a color with it this turn.
1/1
Wojek Apothecary’s ability is clearly strong, but it costs way too much mana for a 1/1 to ever see play. If this card cost two mana I’d be wary of its Constructed value.
Constructed Unplayable
Wojek Siren W
Instant Common
Radiance – Target creature and each other creature that shares a color with it get +1/+1 until end of turn.
This card should be fairly awesome. +1/+1 effects have been played in Constructed before, and Wojek Siren is one whopping mana. It can set up a mini-Overrun or simply ensure that combat becomes a mess for the opponent. It’s not going to inspire any all new decks, but decks that actually want swarm boost should at least consider this card. It will be a nice complement to token generation strategies and keep key permanents alive… possibly at the same time; the only question is if decks with this kind of capability are actually good enough.
Playable – Staple
As a whole, White didn’t give us any really outstanding cards, but there is a lot of potential. In fact, the more I think about Auratouched Mage the more I think it might go Godo on someone’s ass in the near future… or contribute to an even more powerful strategy.
There seems to be a heavy Aura theme in pure White. It is interesting to note that the color that gave us Enduring Ideal in the previous set is giving White ways to play off-color Auras – specifically via Auratouched Mage – without paying their retail costs. Besides Auras, we have the typical damage prevention and life gain suite that is rarely good in Constructed deck even when it is playable.
If you are uninspired at this point, don’t worry. The Gold and Guild White is a lot better than its pureblood form.
Tomorrow: Blue