Ah, finally, my favorite part of the set. I am very much a Green lover, and many a fellow pro has commented on the fact that I cannot avoid taking a Green card in draft, which is definitely true. I love the color in this format, and I love the Simic guild. Enough of me declaring my love to magical cards… I don’t want y’all to think I don’t have a life or anything. On with the review!
Constructed: 3
Limited: 3
Best Use: Two drop in a weenie deck.
I have always loved Spikes. They were my favorite creatures when they were around, and Spike Feeder is still a personal favorite… and that is why I obviously like these guys. This one is costed aggressively, being a fine creature in itself. Later in the game, when a 2/2 isn’t good enough anymore, he will just slide off his counters to a more deserving target. In Constructed he is fine, but will probably always have better guys ahead of him. This means he won’t make the deck often, but a 2/2 for two is just good. In Limited, this is a good two-drop that will always make your deck, and if your deck has a lot of graft tricks, this will help you completely blow them out. Not very dominating on it’s own, but a fine card.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 4
Best Use: Blue Skies.
Back in the day, Stronghold Zeppelin got a lot of play. This guy is miles better than that guy, adding trample and the ability to block. The format needs to be right to make this guy playable, but history has shown us that if the pieces are there, the card will be a fine Constructed option. In Limited this is as good as a card will ever get, combining a huge body with two of the best abilities a creature can have. The best creature you can get in pack 3 in the common slot, and a reason to go UG.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 3
Best Use: Late-game Limited game winner.
When the board is stalled, and both of you are playing off the top of your deck, there is no better card in Limited than this. It wins the game as soon as you cast it. Before that it is very weak though, and in non-stall situations this is also pretty costly, meaning that it will not be great a lot of the time. In Constructed, paying seven mana to maybe draw cards is not good.
Constructed: 4
Limited: 4
Best Use: Replacing Sakura-Tribe Elder.
I love this guy, and he might be my favorite card in the whole set. He is very efficient at what he does, as he will always yield you card advantage and sometimes will speed you up. A great card, and at that cost feels like it will be a perfect fit for Constructed if a deck can be found to exploit it. In Limited, this is the best two-drop you can get, especially if you are lucky and hit a land. I have hit a Karoo twice already now, and let me tell you, it is the best feeling in the World.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 4
Best Use: Can you imagine this guy in a Spike deck?!
Whoops, here I go again with the Spikes… anyway, this guy is clearly made for a Graft deck, and he is costed very well at that. The last couple of Green 4/4s for four have all been Constructed playable, and while this guy is not as good as those guys, he does have a little of the same feel. If a Graft deck will ever make it into Constructed, this will be the MVP. In Limited, the more Bloodthirst or Graft you have, the better this guy becomes… but let me tell you, he is a beast by himself already.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 2
Best Use: Poor trick.
If this did not have the non-legendary clause it would have been a very poor creature kill card, with very narrow uses in certain matchups. Now it is just a flavor card for Wizards to be happy about, saying, “ooh, that Simic Guild sure is weird, and good at copying!” In Limited this could at least be a combat trick, but in Constructed I don’t see any uses for this card.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Limited.
I don’t really want to let the cat out of the bag, but when you are looking for a seven mana fattie to finish the game, this guy will be outclassed by a lot of guys, one of which will come later in this review. For Limited this guy is very good, and comes close to Siege Wurm in quality, yet I see him go very late a lot. I think that is wrong. People are first-picking the Wurm and not this guy?
Constructed: 1
Limited: 1
Best Use: Target practice.
In order for this to do a lot, first you have to make a permanent with a reasonably high mana cost, then you have to play a four-mana enchantment on it, then you need it to survive another turn, and then you will get some mana? What, you don’t even win the game? No. No.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Limited Bomb.
This needs a lot of work to get going, and even then you don’t get that great an effect. Great card flavor-wise, and a lot of fun, but in Constructed you just want to attack with your six-drop creatures, and there are better options everywhere. In Limited, this guy is huge, and give him enough time and he will win you the game… but he is much like Woodwraith Corruptor, which has been going down in pick-orders everywhere the longer the set has been around.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 3
Best Use: Board card.
The Green Blood Oath is not a Blood Oath at all. Still a fine card, but not near the explosiveness of the original. There may be a bunch of decks that are vulnerable to this kind of effect, and it is pretty efficient. In Limited, someone played it against me turn 4 and said creatures… and got ten tokens. Late game he drew another one and named land, while I was cleverly holding back three to not get wrecked by discard spells. Not bad, but can also be a dud, which means I won’t take it or play it very highly… but it can definitely be an option.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 3
Best Use: Limited creature kill.
The thing I overlooked when I first saw this guy was that the Saproling token can block a flyer. There is a whole bunch of 2/1 flyers around, meaning this will be pretty good against decks with that, as normally Green decks are pretty vulnerable to them. At worst it will be a cantrip 1/1 when you cast it after blockers have been declared, and that isn’t bad ether. A great filler card. In Constructed, this card obviously can’t be taken seriously, as attacking doesn’t really happen that often.
Constructed: 4
Limited: 4
Best Use: Sideboard or maindeck utility.
This creature is great. It is costed pretty high, but what you get is a very good creature with a great ability. The fact that it is five mana means that often your opponent will have played his enchantment or artifact already, meaning that you can just play him in curve… unlike cards like Viridian Shaman, which seldom get played on turn 3. I am sure this will be in most, if not all, of my Green decks from now on. In Limited there are targets everywhere, be they Signets or stuff like Fetters and Pillory. Add to that the fact that he is already a very good creature, and you will understand that you should pick this high and always play it.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 4
Best Use: Limited.
Centaur Glade was a better card for just about the same cost, and it never saw play in Constructed at all. The cost is too high, and compared to Vitu-Ghazi it is easy to see how this comes up short in every way. It is a Limited bomb though, besides being very expensive, but in the long run it will win you the game. All you need to do is survive. Just like the Glade.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 3
Best Use: Sideboards galore.
This guy hoses Friggorid, as well as other dredge decks, meaning it will be fine sideboard card if nothing better is available. It also has a fine body, meaning that after it has done its job it will be a solid threat as well. In Limited, besides the occasional Eidolon or dredge card, the ability often will do nothing, but at 3/2 for three it is a fine guy, fitting any draft deck that plays Green.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 3
Best Use: Giving Sliver Queen +10/+10
In Limited this is a fine card, as +2/+2 to any guy is fine by itself. In Constructed we have Giant Growth, which never gets played, or even stuff like Might of Oaks. This is clearly a Limited card; let’s leave it at that.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 2
Best Use: Straight UG.
The ability is fine – if you play an UG creature you get to tutor a creature and put it in your hand — but five mana for a 2/2 that does nothing by itself means you can’t actually build a deck around it. He dies to Seal of Fire, of all things! He joins the Savra Club of guild leaders that look nice, but are terrible.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Limited once again.
A decent creature with a decent ability. Its Hill Giant body is fine, and its ability means that only 3/3s are safe to battle. Anything bigger on his side? Make it smaller. Anything smaller on your side? Make it bigger. Dominating combat like Kabuto Moth used to do, this is a great creature. It is fairly hard to cast though, meaning it will not always come out on turn 4, but it is still fine after. For the same cost in Constructed there are so many other great options, that this will not make the cut ever. Nice flavor again… Those crazy Simic.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 4
Best Use: Snakeeeeessssssssssss.
Dubbed by one very Ridiculous Hat as “Snakes on a Plane”, this guy is very efficient, giving you three guys for four mana… and one of them is a 2/1 flyer. Compare this to Scatter the Seeds and you will see that how good he is. In Limited, a two-power flyer for four would always be played, but now that he has Acorn Harvest stuck to his back, he will most definitely be a high pick. In Constructed, for four mana, you can do better than a bunch of irrelevant guys, and though it is not out of the realm of possibility that this guy will see a lot of play, it also does not look very likely.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 4
Best Use: Graft decks.
Have you noticed how almost every UG creature in this set gets a limited rating of four? The guild is simply that good. In my opinion, it’s the best one of them all. The only thing lacking is that there are no really good spells, but the creatures are all top notch.
In Constructed, a 3/3 for three is just what a creature needs to get played. It is not a lot smaller than stuff like Burning-Tree Shaman, and its ability makes it playable. Untargetability means it will be pest to deal with for a lot of decks, especially in Block where there are no viable Wrath effects. In Limited, this is just about as good as it gets for a three-drop. There’s no question he is a high pick.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 4
Best Use: Greater Good decks.
The obvious best use is to play him, sac him to Greater Good, and then get a Yosei, finishing the combo and getting eleven cards deeper in your deck. The problem is though that he is not very good by itself, it costs seven mana, and cannot be retrieved back by Goryo’s Vengeance… meaning that he will only make the cut if you need a fifth Yosei. I don’t think you do right now, but who knows. In Limited he is just a giant Boom-Boom, with a great ability if they do manage to kill him. A very high pick, of course, but keep an eye on your curve. I had him in my deck with Exhumer Thrull… now that is a nice little combo.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 2
Best Use: Protecting your tappers.
Some people have told me this card was better then I thought in Limited, but I still don’t really see it. Three mana is a lot to pay for something, and even though it replaces itself, it doesn’t really do anything. Okay if you don’t want that Minister to die, but I don’t like cards like this. In Constructed this is clearly terrible, as it doesn’t achieve anything useful.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 4
Best Use: Graft!
This card has surprised me a lot. At first I though it was a fine card, nothing special, and certainly not close to being as good as some of the other guildmages, but now that I have played with it some, I think it might be the 4th best Guildmage around – for Limited. As soon as you get it and any graft guy in play, you will be able to dominate every combat situation, as well as devaluing all of your opponents’ enchantments. The first time I moved one of my opponents Fetters to one of my lands was a brilliant feeling, and it won me the game. A great creature, but make sure you have your deck set up for it with some graft and/or bloodthirst. In Constructed it is a two-mana 2/2, which is always fine, but unless you are playing the graft deck, this has competition from better cards.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 2
Best Use: If you really need a creature, play this.
Now this is where I draw the line. I love graft, but the others are all three mana 3/3’s, not overcosted monsters like this guy. The ability is no better than any of the others, making it simply bad. It can be fine in certain situations, moving its tokens around giving you an army of basilisks, but even then it still costs so much mana… I would only play it if I have to. As for Constructed… cards that are barely playable in Limited don’t usually make good Constructed fodder.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 2
Best Use: Graft or RG Beatdown.
A fine one-drop that gets in for a couple of points early, and when it expires, you just move the counter up to the big boys. In Limited, one-drops are a less powerful than in Constructed, but it is certainly playable with certain cards in the mix.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 3
Best Use: Remember Horseshoe Crab? Well, in those decks.
Combos great with Hypervolt Grasp, Glare of Subdual, and Ocular Halo, while being a fine guy by itself. This is exactly what a Limited deck needs: efficient men. In Constructed it is clearly not good enough, but in Limited I love a Hill Giant, and gets even better when you have any of the aforementioned cards.
Constructed: 4
Limited: 5
Best Use: Finisher in control.
I am 100% sure this card will be the finisher in many a deck at PT Charleston, and rightfully so. This card is amazing, by far the best rare in the set, and possibly the Block. Seven mana is not that much more than six, in a format where everyone plays bounce lands and such. The dragons may be slightly better, but once they rotate out, be sure that this guy will take their place. Those Simic sure know how to upgrade a bad design.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 3
Best Use: Grafffffffffft.
A 2/2 for four will never be played in Constructed when it doesn’t do anything great… and well, this guy sure doesn’t. In Limited, this guy is a lot better than he looks, as regeneration is a very strong ability. If you have this guy and one other creature he gives you two regenerators on defence; add any other graft or bloodthirst guy, and he becomes even better. This guy makes Ghor-Clan Savage close to unstoppable.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 1
Best Use: See if it still won’t die if you rip it up.
Five mana for a 0/2 that doesn’t do anything but replace itself when it gets killed is a pretty bad joke. Even with a million of these guys in play I still wouldn’t be happy, as they don’t do anything.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 2
Best Use: Sideboards.
Not a lot of decks play both enchantments and artifacts in a reliable amount; therefore this will never be the best choice in a sideboard. Note that both need to be in play at the same time for you to be able to play this card, and that makes it very limited. In Limited, you can board this in if your opponent has good enchantments you need to kill (read Glare) because most of the time there will also be a Signet around, so it’s okay if you really need it. More often than not, it will be totally uncastable.
Constructed: 1
Limited: 1
Best Use: Web Proxy.
Because, yeah… Web is playable.
(/sarcasm)
Constructed: 2
Limited: 2
Best Use: Graft, I guess…
Not very exciting, because sorcery speed means it will never be card advantage. It only makes your guys better, meaning it will actually be card disadvantage every single time you play it. I do not like cards like that, and the fact that to optimize this you need a bunch of creatures and a bunch of mana means I will seldom play this outside of the Graftiest of Graft decks.
Constructed: 4
Limited: 4
Best Use: UG everywhere.
This card is great, pound for pound. A fine body, a decent casting cost, flying, and a great ability. This will shut down decks by itself, and is obviously great in Limited versus the turn 2 Signet play. He might even be better then the Zeppelin, depending on the matchup. In Constructed, this will slip into the UG blue skies I think is coming, as well as be a good sideboard card against a bunch of other decks. Great card.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 3
Best Use: Heartbeat.
A poor man’s Bird of Paradise, but in some case this is better. Working well with Early Harvest and speeding up the Heartbeat deck by a turn, this seems like a natural fit, maybe even replacing mainstays like Sakura-Tribe Elder. In Limited this is a great turn 1 play, better than a Signet to speed you up, but will be pretty bad after that. Look for this at about the same level as Elves of Deep Shadow in draft.
Constructed: 2 to 4
Limited: 3
Best Use: Combo decks.
This is the most likely Eidolon to be broken in Constructed, as the Black Lotus ability actually helps its goal of getting multicolored spells in play. I am leaning towards two, though, as it doesn’t seem like it is really viable. I also think this is one of the best Eidolons in draft, as it will help you get cards out in a pinch… as well as speeding you up, getting stuff like Skarrgan Skybreaker or Borborygmos in play at almost no cost… definitely not at the cost of a card.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 3
Best Use: Graftie.
A card that has also surprised me in Limited, as it is better then I thought. Sure, it’s only good on turn 3 or 4, but if you do get it then, you will have a Glorious Anthem for the rest of the game! It gets better if you have Graft, or stuff like Simic Guildmage (of course), but I wouldn’t mind running it even if I don’t have such resources. Note that this is also a great target for cards like Ocular Halo. In Constructed this is just too situational, as cards that are only good on turn 3 are not good enough.
Constructed: 1.5
Limited: 1
Best Use: With the Top.
If you know what is coming, this will of course be a lot better, but even then you will be hard-pressed to find more than two cards of the same type in the top three (or four)… so this will probably draw you two cards at the most. Blue has better card drawing spells at that cost, so I don’t see this being playable. In Limited you never know what’s coming, so paying five mana to draw a card or two in the blind is not something I would ever do.
Constructed: 4
Limited: 3
Best Use: Control decks.
The best counter since Hinder, this is getting a lot of hype despite not being that much better then its predecessor. The added ability is just gravy, because this will be a counterspell most of the time. In the future, when Hinder rotates out, this will be the only alternative we have to Mana Leak, and people will start to do their best to add Green to their deck to be able to cast this. Expect this to also be a defining card in Block, where it balances the format out a lot. In Limited, countermagic has always been a little worse than in Constructed. You can’t base your deck on them, and they don’t affect the board. Still, a good card that is miles ahead of Convolute (if you can cast it), and that card already sees a huge amount of play.
…
That’s it for my favorite guild, the Simic. To be honest, I feel like the set gave the guild a lot of very playable cards, and that this guild is very strong for Limited too. Very exciting.
We’ll see in my last article if it really is the best…
Jeroen.