Welcome to the last instalment of my Dissension set review. I’ll waste no words here, as I review the last of the new cards, and then I’ll do a little wrap-up giving you my own personal Top 10.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 4
Best Use: U/W control.
Impulse is back, although we really shouldn’t call this guy that, as it’s a far cry from the original. It is a fine control card, netting you card selection at no cost, a fine blocker, and even a threat (though a minor one at that). In Limited this can block a lot of two- and three-drops, where it is of course very good, and in Constructed it can be a speed-bump while getting you closer to your outs against the beats.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Sideboard versus creature decks.
People seem to get very excited about this card. In reality, it is nothing more then a sad excuse for a Control Magic. An easy target as a 1/1 most of the time, and if they kill the creature you can’t even use this guy again. This is not the new Vedalken Shackles, and it doesn’t even come close. In Limited, though, as soon as you pick this guy you will be picking up every Graft man in sight, meaning that you will get to steal a whole lot more than one creature. In Constructed it is a passable sideboard card against decks that can’t kill him — which, right now, don’t really exist – and it’s okay in (or against) graft decks.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 2
Best Use: Combos and mill decks.
In Constructed this guy is just not good, although he has this feel of being able to combo your opponent out. I doubt you will be able to do so with any regularity. In Limited there are better Eidolons, as the mill deck is pretty much dead. Still, a creature that keeps coming back is never horrible… if only it did something useful.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Poorest man’s Control Magic.
This continues the trend of sorry excuses for Control Magic that have been plaguing us ever since the original was around. Just compare this to Confiscate and see how much work you have to do for practically no gain. It could be a passable card in Block, but other than that there is always a better card. In Limited, any Control Magic effect is insane, especially with the ability to make the guy you want to steal mono. This is a great card for the forty-card format.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Limited flier.
At 3/3 for five, it is pretty clear that this card is not Constructed playable. In Limited, this is on the same level as cards like Aven Windreaver and Faerie Squadron, and those cards have always been very high picks. This is the same, and has the option of becoming so much better.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 3
Best Use: Graft.
For Constructed, this is simply not good enough. Two cards for six mana, or a mediocre guy, just won’t cut it. Better cards have been around and been ignored. In Limited the body is okay, and you can stack damage and gain some card advantage, but it really is far from exciting and rather expensive. I’ll play it if I have it, but won’t be taking it high.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 3
Best Use: Mostly just limited decks, maybe with untapping creatures.
I don’t see a four-mana aura that doesn’t influence board position ever making it to Constructed, as we have seen a lot of cards like this in the past (Quicksilver Dagger amongst others) and they have never seen play. In Limited, you play this when your opponent is tapped out and put it on your worst creature, meaning that your opponent has to waste a removal spell on it at no cost of a card for you. It does cost a lot, and it doesn’t improve board position, so it is not for every deck… but it certainly is playable.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 4
Best Use: GU aggro.
Confound was an awesome card that saw a reasonable amount of play, and when you add that ability on to a Grizzly Bear, you get an great card. Attacking for two or keeping your other men safe, this thing does it all, and it is that kind of versatility that you are looking for in your Constructed bears. In your sixty-card decks, there may be better options most of the time for the two slot, but in Limited this is one of the best tricks you can get. It can even ambush your opponent’s little guys!
Constructed: 3
Limited: 3
Best Use: Control matchups, Howling Mine decks.
In a vacuum, this card doesn’t do anything except move you draw step to half a turn earlier. When your opponent intends on drawing extra cards though, this card will net you a lot of card advantage, basically rendering his card drawing useless. This card also breaks cards like Howling Mine, since now YOU get to draw more cards than your opponent, making it less of a liability and more of a good play. A little too tricky to really set up, but in control matchups (where it is all about card drawing), this can be a great “lock” card. In Limited this gets a lot better the more card drawing your opponent has, and most of the time I would keep it in the board. Bring it in if he has two Compulsive Researches and some cantrips: you will be happy you did.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Blue Skies.
2/1 fliers for three are not very exciting in Constructed, and even though this is Sakura-Tribe Elder’s cousin, that will not help it get played. Turn 2 acceleration is good… turn 4 you can do so much better than this. In Limited, 2/1 fliers are good, meaning this is a fine card that does something when it dies. Good creature.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 1
Best Use: Psychic Possession decks.
Since we have recently seen a resurgence of Howling Mine decks, it means we now have a home for all these cards that would normally be terrible. No one played Prosperity outside of combo decks, and that card is still strictly better, no matter if this card has forecast (which is soooo slow). It is clear you should never play this in Limited, and in Constructed I would strictly keep it in mind if you do end up trying a combo deck… or if you’re trying to stop that Hellbent deck.
Constructed: 5
Limited: 2
Best Use: Any deck.
No deck in Constructed can afford to play without two-drops, and that is why this card is so spectacular. Every deck has targets, and it is such a tempo play that most decks lose right on the spot when you play turn 1 island with this in the mitt. It is going to be interesting seeing people bluff this by playing a dual untapped on turn 1, paying the 2 life. In Limited, not every deck has a target, meaning this is not for the maindeck.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 3
Best Use: Limited finisher.
In Constructed this is uncastable, with an underwhelming effect. How many spells do you expect to have? In Limited this will be a great finisher in a stall deck, but so will any other flying fatty. Not special, but you’ll take it if it fits.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 3
Best Use: Graft.
Grey Ogre with a fair ability that has the keyword graft. Constructed decks don’t want Ogres, and this card doesn’t even have a great ability. Limited decks will gladly play an Ogre or two, and this still has a decent Limited ability after all.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 1
Best Use: Psychic Possession deck.
Compare this card to Words of Wisdom, and shudder. It is the exact same card, except it gives your opponent an extra draw? Why you would want to do that? Owling Mine I guess, but that’s really all I can think of other then the Possession. This card is card disadvantage. Do not play it in Limited, ever.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 1
Best Use: Scraper for an icy windshield.
If it would make any creature unblockable, okay… I could maybe see something there. Why it only serves the weenies, I have no idea. If you are building Constructed or Limited decks with this, then you know you have a long way to go in improving your game.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 2
Best Use: The trading deck, highlighting Spawnbroker.
This card is clearly meant to be traded with Spawnbroker, as it can get almost any guy of theirs and then blow up in their face. A nice joke and all, but not really something I want in my creature. Great casual card, though. In Limited, it is a Mortipede without an ability. I would rather run something better, but I could see running something worse. It gets better the more Wurms your opponent has in his deck.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Graft once again.
This card seems like it is strictly better than Dragon Blood, since the tapping effect on your creature will almost never do anything. You use it when you are already attacking, already blocking, or at end of turn, meaning the tapping doesn’t do all that much. You get an extra ability and the possibility to use it as an Icy Manipulator on your opponent’s creatures. Note that this is very risky, and as soon as you start tapping that guy, you are committed. The threat will only get bigger and bigger. I don’t see myself using that a lot, but it’s nice having the option. Very good Limited card, because the effects can get out of hand pretty fast, but not too exciting for Constructed, even in a graft deck.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 1
Best Use: The Tim deck.
This card gets better the more tap effects you have, and though I could see decks in Limited that maybe want to run this, the prospect of losing two cards when they kill my tap guy (as this becomes worthless at that point) makes me feel like it is never worth it. In Constructed you can build your deck around this. Your deck will never be very competitive if you do, since you are relying on activated creature abilities.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 3
Best Use: Control Mirror.
Disrupting Scepter, but a lot better, giving you a whole extra option. This means that when card advantage is important, this card will be pretty good. Play it maindeck in Limited and it will not disappoint you, but don’t take it too high. In Constructed all you need to worry about is getting in play, and then milk it for all it’s worth.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 1
Best Use: Scraping the ice off of the Writ of Passage you used earlier.
So you spend countless turns equipping this to creatures, sacking them and putting counters on your equipment, to finally get rid of it so your opponent has to sacrifice a land or two? Either that, or you get the worst Bonesplitter in the history of mankind. Does either of those things sound alluring?
Constructed: 2
Limited: 1
Best Use: Sideboard against burn decks.
Permanent lifegain cards are good against decks that want to kill you through damage (of course), but four mana is hardly ever worth it unless you are really desperate. In Limited, lifegain is even worse, and certainly unplayable in a slow card like this.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 3
Best Use: If you really, really need a Hill Giant.
Hill Giants are fine for Limited. Play it if you have it. Hill Giants are not good in Constructed. Never play it there.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 1
Best Use: Owling Mine.
This card is an extra Howling Mine, if you need it. The other abilities don’t matter much, as you will not want to pump this and give you opponent a way to kill this card sooner. Your opponent draws the cards first, meaning you should never play this guy in Limited, and hardly ever in Constructed. Owling Mine is the only exception.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 1
Best Use: Vintage, hoping your opponent has no basics.
This is not a tempo card, like its predecessors Wasteland and Strip Mine, as it always represents pure card disadvantage. Even killing a bounce land doesn’t gain you tempo, as you both lose a mana. Good if they don’t have basic lands in their deck, like in Vintage sometimes, and a fair answer against utility lands like Vitu-Ghazi and Library of Alexandria. Never maindeck this in draft, and don’t play it in Constructed. There are better options.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 2
Best Use: Token decks.
The effect is good, but it does add three mana to every creature you play. This means that it’s only good in decks that get multiple creatures in play in the same turn. Cards like Scatter the Seeds and Fists of Ironwood love this card, and that is the deck this belongs in. For Constructed this card seems very slow, and there aren’t a lot of these token cards in draft anymore, meaning that this will often stay on the bench.
Constructed: 1 to 4
Limited: 1
Best Use: The all-multicolour deck.
This card is clearly only good if your deck is all-multicolor, and it is very good in that deck. Whether the cards are actually there to do that is doubtful, so I don’t think this card will ever see competitive play. If it is there, it is clearly the best land in you deck. In Limited, you will always have mono-colored spells, and you really don’t want to get screwed. It’s not worth it.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 3
Best Use: UW control.
Surprisingly good in Limited, where this will stop an evasion creature late-game, or where you can use it as an offensive combat trick. The mana cost means that it will never actually be good enough for Constructed, but the versatility means that it is pretty playable in your forty-carder.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 2
Best Use: Hellbent decks (or other RB decks) versus control.
A fine tool in Hellbent, as you will empty your hand while also emptying your opponent’s grip, but the cost might turn out to be a little high. Great against control decks to negate their late-game card drawing, as you are both drawing off the top. In Limited, this is okay if you empty your hand first, and then activate it a bunch of times… but it doesn’t tap for a color of mana, and that means it is not great in this format as the ability rarely matters. Play it if you are heavy Hellbent.
Signets, Karoos and Duals:
At this point, we already know how insane these cards are in all formats, and that they now have completed the cycle. More options are always better, and now there really are no limits to what decks we can build.
And that’s it for the set! I must say, for Limited it seems like the best set in the block, and it looks like it will make the format even more interesting than it already was. BRU was a little too good, and this set seems to be doing a lot to change that.
For Constructed, I also managed to find a lot of gems, and my Top 10 reflects that. Where in the past I had to scrape to find ten great picks for Constructed, this set seems to offer a lot of potential.
The Lands
I grouped the Karoos and the Shock Duals together here, because no one doubts that these cards will be the most played cards in any format. Using six slots in the Top 10 would be a joke, so I put them all up top. Efficient and simple, both cycles are amongst the best duals we have had since the originals, if not the best.
I would have never thought that in this day and age would come the best X spell we have ever seen. I feel this is better then anything that has gone before, since it combines the best of what all had to offer. It even comes close to Urza’s Rage as the best anti-control burn spell.
Aiding any control deck, in any format, is this great weapon. No matter how long the game has gone, this will still be good as your opponent will still be drawing two-mana spells. This makes it a lot better than Force Spike, and one of the best tempo counters in the game.
Despite not being that much better than Hinder and variants, Absorb and Undermine’s little brother is still a spectacular counter that will always have a place in Constructed formats, no question.
The new Swords to Plowshares has been a long time coming, and I feel that this the first time the card has come close to the original. Not as good, of course, but it doesn’t get any better than “one mana, remove any creature” spells.
One of the best new cards for Vintage or Legacy, where getting an empty had is not too hard, and winning after that isn’t either. Just get your Yawgmoth’s Will when you cast this, or earlier get a second Dark Ritual, or combo it with Lion’s Eye Diamond. The list of uses is endless, despite being a little weak in other formats.
Supply / Demand
I used this card to highlight the new string of great Split cards for Constructed. The Tutor side is obviously the best, but the other side has great late-game uses as well, making it a nice all-round card.
Highlighting the new Hellbent mechanic as well as the latest invitational winner, Terry Soh can be proud to have one of the strongest cards in the set for Constructed play. The only problem I have is with the picture: that guy really does not look like Terry to me.
Despite being a little outclassed in Standard by all the great Kamigawa dragons, this card promises to be the defining creature in the coming Block Constructed format, being close to unbeatable. Once the dragons rotate out, expect this guy to start dominating Standard as well.
Like I said, this is my new favorite card, and that is why I decided to add it to this list. There were a lot of other options I could have taken, like Indrik Stomphowler, Rakdos Pit Dragon, and even Seal of Fire or Wrecking Ball. That many options only highlights the abundance of good cards in this set. It’s a nice one to have around for Constructed play.
So that’s it. I hope you enjoyed reading this series as much as I enjoyed writing it, and please, by all means, let me know what you think. You can still send questions to [email protected] for my article series (even about my review articles), or respond in the forums.
Wish me luck in Prague, guys…
Jeroen.