Rotation is hard. Collected Company will be gone. So much else will be gone.
We’re just about to go from this…
Dragons of Tarkir
Magic Origins
Battle for Zendikar
Oath of the Gatewatch
Shadows over Innistrad
Eldritch Moon
… to this…
Battle for Zendikar
Oath of the Gatewatch
Shadows over Innistrad
Eldritch Moon
Kaladesh
We’re on a new plane, Kaladesh, the home plane of one of my favorite planeswalkers, Chandra Nalaar. As far as that goes in Standard, we’re actually going to have three Chandras in the mix in Standard.
Let us proclaim the mystery of the new Planeswalker Decks, which let us have that strange collection of extra “Kaladesh” cards that aren’t in Kaladesh, much like we secretly had strange cards like Sengir Vampire in Magic Origins without being in the set proper because of a similar product.
As I write this, the whole set hasn’t yet been revealed, but there appears to be another bit of excitement in the works, if not for Kaladesh, then for Aether Revolt:
Is one of my favorite cards still involved with Phyrexians? I don’t read the stories, so I couldn’t tell you, but I’m incredibly excited to see the card play out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a ton of planeswalkers in this set, and I hope to not have to wait until Aether Revolt for my favorite artifact-based planeswalker.
Of course, aside from the new hotness of planeswalkers and potential planeswalkers, there are some upcoming holes to fill as wildly powerful cards leave the format. Are there Kaladesh cards that might be able to fill in those holes? Is there a replacement for Collected Company?
Let’s start with the most obvious switcheroo.
These cards do some wildly similar kinds of work. Of course, the powerful effect of a Tragic Arrogance is, as with Emrakul, the Promised End, making horrible choices on behalf of your opponent. Cataclysmic Gearhulk doesn’t have that upside, but it does come attached to an incredibly significant body.
This is an intriguing difference.
For example, if we pretend that some cards your opponent have are worth a lot more or less, we might assign a number to their worth, with “1” being the value of a Sylvan Advocate with five lands out, “.4” being the value of an 0/1 Plant, and “2” being the value of a flipped Avacyn, the Purifier. If a 4/5 vigilance creature is worth, say, “1.1” on this scale, Tragic Arrogance is going to feel a lot better than a Cataclysmic Gearhulk when being cast onto a battlefield that you otherwise have empty, just because of the huge cost of having that Plant be replaced by an Avacyn.
We can’t do much about this, though – it’s just the new world we live in.
But the Gearhulk does add in something exciting to the mix: a controlling card, however less controlling, that adds a body that can kill the opponent and be triggered anew with cards like Liliana, the Last Hope or Eldrazi Displacer.
This is one of those replacements to be excited about.
Infinite Obliteration was a common solution to a lot of problems that felt otherwise insurmountable, like the scariness of a Emrakul, the Promised End, which would utterly end a long game. Lost Legacy solves most of the same problems – unless the card you really want to stop is something like a Pilgrim’s Eye – and adds the ability to solve nearly any card. The cost to the flexibility of being able to name a fearful planeswalker or any other nonartifact, nonland card is removing the feel-goods that come with knocking the card out of someone’s hand.
I’m sure it will still feel great when you get rid of a Chandra, Flamecaller or two from someone’s hand when they are a turn from hitting six mana, but you will no longer get that satisfaction of the free card.
Of course, you’ll probably be sad when you can’t name Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, but what can you do?
Read the Bones is going to be a rough card to replace. While Painful Truths is certainly an understandable go-to in the next Standard, Live Fast is a Kaladesh card that might take up that space you need in your two-color deck. Without a third color in your deck, Live Fast is just a better Painful Truths, even if you only have very minimal payoff in Energy. As it looks to me, I have a feeling that Energy is going to be significant, in general, in this Standard (would they really introduce a mechanic and not have it be?), so Live Fast seems like a likely card to see showing up in W/B Control moving forward.
The obvious payoffs for that Energy in a Read the Bones-style deck haven’t been printed yet, but perhaps cards like Aetherworks Marvel and Dynavolt Tower will make the cut for these decks, with a bit of backup from Aether Hub.
Neither Gilt-Leaf Winnower nor Foul-Tongue Invocation is a perfect analog to the utter beating that is Noxious Gearhulk, but I definitely though about them both when I saw the impressive Construct from Kaladesh. Controlling cards that remove creatures and gain life are a big deal, and the menace on Noxious Gearhulk is nothing to sneeze at.
Gilt-Leaf Winnower was less played than it might have been if it could take out cards like Sylvan Advocate, Archangel Avacyn, or Thalia’s Lieutenant. Being able to kill anything is a very powerful ability, and the recuperative lifegain is exactly the kind of effect that led so many decks to playing some number of Linvala, the Preserver.
It’s cool that these niches both get filled a little bit.
Like to take risks with a strong payoff? Midnight Oil might be the thematic update to the Demonic Pact hole your heart needs filling. It can even be Harmless Offering fodder if you have a solid enough plan!
There really isn’t much connecting these cards otherwise, other than the theme of painful costs for a potent payoff. This isn’t a true replacement for Demonic Pact, but for those that enjoy the ride of “one day you’ll be damned,” this card might be for you.
Despite the existence of Galvanic Bombardment, Fiery Impulse has continued to be my go-to for a reliable way to deal three damage to a creature for cheap. Galvanic Bombardment is likely going to see an uptick in play, and for good reason, but if you absolutely want to guarantee that you can deal three damage, and you might be in the market for a little more, Harnessed Lightning is likely to be in your arsenal, even if it does add a mana to the cost. Two mana is a huge amount more than one, but three damage is also quite a bit more than two.
The loss of Nissa, Vastwood Seer is going to be a big deal. Drawing a card a turn was an amazing ability, as was the potent body on defense. Both of these came when Nissa flipped, which was made all the easier by the Forest-seeking Seer side.
Nissa, Vital Force comes with that big body and a card advantage engine. It doesn’t come with the mana-smoothing powers that Nissa, Vastwood Seer brought to the table, and that is a huge deal. However, the card-drawing powers of Nissa, Vital Force are pretty huge. Of course, you don’t always have a land to trigger it, so it isn’t as reliable. However, the 5/5 that comes with Nissa, Vital Force feels like an incredible contribution from the card.
I think this is a downgrade, but it isn’t by much.
Den Protector didn’t see much play towards the end of its life, but it did see play, though it was most noteworthy in conjunction in a loop with Crush of Tentacles or as a part of a package with Traverse the Ulvenwald and Liliana, the Last Hope.
Wildest Dreams asks for a more substantial contribution and has the problem of being in competition with Seasons Past for the slot in a deck, but five mana is a substantial amount less than six, and there are times where you really do want to get a few cards of the same casting cost at the same time.
This is a massive downgrade, all told, but perhaps can help fit the bill for people willing to invest less than the six constantly demanded by Seasons Past.
Both supply card advantage engines on a planeswalker and also have a crippling ultimate ability to reach for. Neither is exactly the perfect ideal of what we’d want for the cost, but they both can manage to do a fair amount of work and could be a pain for an opponent to deal with. While I find myself thinking that Dovin Baan is slightly better than Narset Transcendent, a card which saw a fair amount of play at Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad, I think it is likely quite close.
The loss of these lands is going to be rough, especially if you’re excited about colorless mana (I’m talking to you, Eldrazi!). But, if you weren’t so concerned about colorless mana and you were more concerned about simple color, probably you’re going to be doing a dance of joy, because the new enemy-pair lands are incredible.
Of course, if you do care about colorless mana, you have options too. Granted, this is not as good for a deck that needs consistent access to color. However, we have to make do with what we have, not what we wish we had. What’s your alternative?
Finally…
Luckily for you, I have a replacement for Collect Company.
Okay, maybe not. But you can’t expect the world to stay the same forever! The one constant is change!
I’m counting down the days until the Prerelease. As always, I’ll be at Misty Mountain Games in Madison, playing some Sealed, playing some Two-Headed Giant, and just having a blast. Some things won’t ever change.
As I’ve been doing lately, I won’t be playing in the midnight release at that store like I did a little while back.
Some things do change.
And that’s a good thing.