Alara Reborn has been unveiled. It is a bold and impressive set, full of new mechanics and new monsters. If you don’t know by now, Alara Reborn is a set composed entirely of gold spells. It also features a new mechanic named “cascade,” which mills your library until you find a spell that costs less, and allows you to play it for free. As we all know, ‘Free’ tends to equate with ‘Vintage Playable.’
As exciting and courageous as an all-gold set is from a thematic standpoint, an all-gold set is less thrilling from the standpoint of a Vintage tournament competitor. Very few gold cards have seen play in Vintage. There are two basic reasons for this. The first reason is the inherent inefficiency of gold cards. Gold cards have an effective mana cost higher than their actual mana cost. By requiring two sources of mana from at least two different colors, a particular and often limited assortment of mana sources must first be assembled. By being more conditional, they are inherently less efficient. Since Vintage decks often lean on non-traditional sources of mana, such as Mishra’s Workshop or Dark Ritual, gold cards are more costly to play. Although there may be far more varied sources of mana in Vintage than other formats, on account of cards like Gemstone Mine or City of Brass, they tend to be present in limited quantities in the decks in which these cards see play.
The leads to the second problem with gold cards, that gold cards are inherently slower than non-gold cards, and slower in Vintage than other formats as well. Vintage decks tend to ‘curve out’ using Moxen. Thus, Vintage decks often feature cards that cost one mana and a colorless for turn one, and a three mana spell with at least one colorless for turn two, and so on. By fusing multiple colors into a single card, the true total mana cost is actually higher, since a two-mana gold card will rarely be played on turn 1.
Aside from Oath of Druids or Ichorid win conditions (meaning that they are never actually cast), such as Hellkite Overlord, Flame-Kin Zealot, Empyrial Archangel, or Simic Sky Swallower, very few gold cards have seen play in Vintage. The best gold card to be cast in Vintage is probably Psychatog, followed by Meddling Mage. Artifact Mutation, Dimir Cutpurse, Gaddock Teeg, Trygon Predator and Lim-Dul’s Vault have also seen marginal amounts of play. I will be looking in particular for cards in this casting cost range as I walk through Alara Reborn.
Before we dig into the Alara Reborn spoiler, let’s take one last look at Conflux, and make sure that you we have your Vintage checklist in order.
1 Inkwell Leviathan
4 Master Transmuter
4 Noble Hierarch
Each of these cards has seen play in several Vintage Top 8s. Inkwell Leviathan become a Vintage staple, and is a card that every Vintage player will want to have. It’s only a couple of bucks. These are cards that every Vintage player will want to complete their collection, as they either see play in Vintage, or could potentially see play in a deck they may want to build some day.
Let’s see what Alara Reborn brings to Vintage:
Most Vintage reviews since the beginning of time embed in their analysis repeated references to existing cards. To the extent that existing cards provide a benchmark for efficiency or power, this can be a useful exercise. However, it can be equally misleading, since no two cards are identical, and those differences are often distinctions that matter. The only three-mana White flyer that really sees play in Vintage is Aven Mindcensor, although Vendilion Clique is probably good enough for Vintage, both on account of their disruptive impact. Cards with a Blue splash are better than cards that lack such a splash, since they provide Force of Will pitch fodder if nothing else. The upside to this creature, among others, is that he can neutralize — to some extent — a Darksteel Colossus. It also has the offensive advantage of turning your army, however it is composed, into a flying — and brief — clock. This card looks like a card that could break the Fish mirror open…
But there are other cards that can do that better, like Umezawa’s Jitte. And Darksteel Colossus sees less and less play, usurped by Inkwell Leviathan.
This card is at a casting cost which is suitable for Vintage. It’s effects, in principle, are borderline viable, for Vintage. The problem isn’t the casting cost of the creature, although UB would be superior, slightly. The problem is that the costs of the activated abilities are exorbitant. Would this creature really be that problematic if it cost UB, and it’s first activated ability was: U, tap, and its second was: BB, tap?
This is perhaps one of the most interesting Millstone effects ever created. There are a few decks in Vintage that run only a handful of lands. Decks like Belcher run none, and decks like Ichorid run 4-8 maindeck. This card is too slow and risky for Ichorid, and too slow to beat Belcher as well, but it remains an interesting option for think about.
There is no doubt that the effect of Time Walk is powerful, but there already exists a very efficient way to take infinite turns in Vintage: Time Vault plus Voltaic Key. This card’s cost of usage is so outrageous, that even if you were able to activate this card once, you would find yourself unable to take advantage of it. To make this card work, you’d have to pair it with some janky recursion cards indeed.
If only this creature was a Goblin! This card has built in Price of Progress. This is a very powerful effect that I believe is Vintage viable in the right deck. There is an archetype called “The Mountains Win Again.” This creature should be a serious consideration in that archetype. This man should be able to deal 4-8 damage each time he comes into play, and have enough time for a few more swings subsequent. This creature, frankly, seems potentially awesome in Legacy. In Legacy, he should routinely deal 6-10 damage each time he hits play. I wonder if this will motivate some Legacy burn pilots to try RB over Boros. The Unearth ability is actually plausible in Legacy as well. Nice card.
Cranial Extraction with Lightning Bolt conditionally built-in. Although the Lightning Bolt effect is a nice bonus, Cranial Extraction can be more fully played using Dark Rituals.
Believe it or not, but Uktabi Orangutan is Vintage playable. This is the same card with greater power, but at the cost of a Red mana splash. This could be playable in Vintage, in a marginal way.
A very nice utility addition to Vintage. Putting it in Green and White greatly limits its range of use, but it is still very playable. I suggest this card for Vintage budget decks with a Green and White base both as possible mainboard material in our Tezzeret Time Vault era, but also as a sideboard tool for the Workshop and Oath match.
Consider its application in this shell:
WG Budget Aggro-Control
4 Null Rod
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Gaddock Teeg
4 Aven Mindcensor
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
1 Lotus Petal
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
3 Plains
3 Forest
4 Savannah
4 Flooded Strand
4 Wooded Foothills
Sideboard:
4 Samurai of the Pale Curtain
4 Kataki, War’s Wage
4 Jotun Grunt
3 Relic of Progenitus
Using it to counter one spell is just inefficient and too slow. But using it to counter two spells is a great advantage and a good deal, not to mention a source of card advantage. The problem, of course, is that two spells have to be on the stack to take advantage of it. In order to maximize the use of this card, you basically need to be protecting a spell you’ve already played, which makes this card even more conditional, but also less necessary. Because, again, where is the second spell likely to come from? Maybe I am missing some potential or common interaction, but while this card could theoretically Vintage, I’m not seeing any application. It seems great for casual multi-player formats, though. Nice design, Mark Gottlieb (I sense his hand in this card).
Oh great — just what we need, another Loam creature for Legacy. Thanks Wizards! Bah! This card is absurd. Best case scenario is that I’ll Plow it and give me opponent 25 life. Humbug!
This card is simply too inefficient in Vintage, even with the duplicative effect. Paying three to destroy a permanent that likely costs less is not a good deal.
This is an interesting card for Vintage: is two mana for a two-color four-power creature a good deal? If that creature were just 1U, the answer would almost certainly be: YES. Even with the cost involved on this creature. But it costs BG. Flesh Reaver is not playable. This creature’s drawback is much less painful. The fundamental problem is that non-disruptive or utility creatures see very little play in Vintage. Exceptions include Tarmogoyf, Quirion Dryad, and not much else. It is not likely to see any play in Vintage, if only because aggro or aggro control decks based out of GB don’t really exist in Vintage. Maybe a budget deck I’ll work on someday…
This is by far the most exciting card in Alara Reborn. This is yet another reason Wizards should unrestrict Gush and encourage the development of fair UG base creature decks to help balance out speed combo and ridiculous Mana Drain based Tezzeret Time Vault decks.
This, to me, is a great example of why we should be careful when analogizing to existing printings. The criticism of this guy on my team is that he should not be played over Tarmogoyf. And they are right. But he’s a different sort of creature. While it is certainly reminiscent of Quirion Dryad (for example, the turn he attacks he’s at least a 3/3), it also has features that remind me of Psychatog.
First and foremost, this card is gross with Mystic Remora, the hot tech in Vintage recently. Not to mention the hilarious +4 power boost it gets off Meditate. That’s just the beginning of its synergy. Although Brainstorm is restricted now, and although many “draw cards” in Vintage don’t actually ‘draw’ cards, like Ponder, Fact or Fiction, Gifts Ungiven, and Necropotence, there are many cards that do. Sensei’s Divining Top, Gush, Ancestral Recall (which is a very heavy and favorite early tutor target), Brainstorm, and — lord forbid — draw sevens all draw cards. Timetwister with this guy in play and you can probably attack for lethal damage!
Unfortunately, the casting cost of the card rules it out from being a likely turn 1 play, which puts it in much closer company to Psychatog. Like Psychatog, I could imagine trying to build a deck with Intuitions and Deep Analysis/Accumulated Knowledge, and see how it works. However, Bazaar of Bagdad (which also pumps this guy) in combination with Deep Analysis might be better (which isn’t necessarily saying much). The actual home I think might be best for this deck is a shell that uses Mystic Remora (maybe),Thirst For Knowledge with Deep Analysis and a singleton Gush and Timetwister. In other words, I would try something similar to Drain Tendrils, but run this guy as a two- or three-of.
Consider this:
Coatl Control, First Draft
3 Lorescale Coatl
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Mystic Remora
4 Thirst For Knowledge
1 Deep Analysis
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Brainstorm
1 Misdirection
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Gush
1 Timetwister
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Regrowth
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Tinker
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Repeal
2 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
I will certainly be testing this monster in Legacy as well, which should be unreal with Sensei’s Divining Tops and 4 Brainstorms. I’m psyched about this dude! What a serpent!
Sages of Anima
This creature is an Elf, which — yes — means it can be played in Elves! It’s also got a nifty filter that could be sick with Glimpse of Nature or Skullclamp. An option for Vintage Elves!
When I read this card I actually said “What?!” out loud. The price of Ophidian is getting cheaper and cheaper these days, although, to be honest, this guy comes down the same turn that Ophidian would be played. Could that be good enough for Vintage? I suspect that it may be. In fact, it’s probably better in Vintage than it is in Legacy. Ninja of Deep Hours sees a lot of Vintage play, and this guy is potentially just better in BUG Fish, even though it deals less damage.
Much has been made of this creature on Vintage discussion boards, with much — justifiable — criticism as well. To recap, this card has been most closely compared to Mindslaver, a very unique Vintage effect. In some ways, it’s sort of an inverted Mindslaver. The biggest problem with this card is that the activation occurs at the beginning of upkeep. This means that it won’t even trigger unless it begins the turn in play on your side. That means that you can’t use tricks like Master Transmuter at the beginning of your turn to get Triplets to trigger. This card would be better if it had a mana cost activated ability rather than the ‘beginning of upkeep’ trigger. The ‘beginning of upkeep’ trigger is one of the best ways to neuter it. I’m disappointed that Wizards went to such unnecessary lengths. This could have been a really sweet addition to Vintage with just a minor tweak, and no real risks for other formats. It’s an awesome card. Even still, I believe that this card is Vintage playable for the powerful effect it generates. However, this card will almost never be “cast.” It is a Tinker target and a Welder target.
This creature is naturally a 2/1, but becomes 3/2 flyer if you have Meddling Mage in play. I am curious to see if some innovative Vintage players try to build more 3- and 4-color budget and Fish decks out of this set.
Conclusion
Well, there it is, Alara Reborn. As expected, an all-gold set does not produce many Vintage playables, but there are a few gems hidden among the clutter.
After review, I definitely recommend you pick up these cards for your Vintage collection:
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Lorescale Coatl
1 Sen Triplets
I did not include Vedalken Heretic on that list, since I don’t think it’s likely to pop up on the Vintage scene, even though I think it is Vintage playable. If you really want to be complete, I would grab a playset of those, as well as a copy of Sages of Anima.
Until next time…