When I started playing Magic, Set Reviews were a dime a dozen. Writers, sensing easy material, would happily copy their word-count’s worth of extant material into a file and then run through it commenting in a flippant fashion on the cards that they didn’t care about, then have sparks of energy around the cards they really did want to talk about. As I started writing, I just assumed that Set Reviews were the Done Thing. I still tried to do something different (involving my wife, for example), but that was mostly so I didn’t feel bad about it. There was less pride in what I was doing, and I did suffer the ‘home stretch’ effect, in that the last fifth of the piece would just be awful.
This time, I’m going to avoid that pitfall. Instead of thinking I have to talk about everything, I’m just going to do a quick run through of the cards that do interest me. I’m also not going to bother with the big names in the set — I mean, do I really need to suggest ways for you to abuse Volcano Hellion? – and just look at the cards that the casual crowd are most likely to get their hands on.
After my last outing, and Mark Rosewater‘s fascinating look into the reflavoring of the mantle of Magic, I really should dedicate this space to eating some humble (color?) pie. The piece was interesting and showed that some areas that have bothered me (such as the unilateral position of green as the Color That Doesn’t Get Fliers) are not hard rules, and now that I’ve seen the whole set, Planar Chaos is a fantastic set. I’m excited to get my hands on the cards — moreso than I was on Time Spiral (which is pretty understandable — the card I most wanted out of Time Spiral was Think Twice). This, of course, means that the next month will suck.
Also, I want to direct anyone who has an interest in the color pie, or the game’s design, read the thread that followed my last article. There’s more meat there than is in the actual article itself.
I am going to really try to avoid commenting on the ‘design’ of the set, partly since I feel that such a high concept requires a more restrained analysis, but mostly since I don’t really have a clue what the hell I’m talking about. As if the previous clause didn’t make that clear.
A major vice of the Set Review is that some — writers and readers — interpret them as if there’s a batting average that has to be defined. Some set reviewers get into that mindset (not wanting to miss a powerful card, or not wanting to be too eager to promote a card they like) and wind up playing to a ‘Well, it could be good’ approach, which will henceforth be referred to as ‘Prove Me Wrong’ (for funsies) syndrome. The trick to avoiding this is just remembering that there’s no final score for a set review, some percentage of catches and misses. You don’t get graded, you know*.
We all have our hits and our misses. Plus, all writers bring their biases to the table. You remember Ted Knutson predicting Magnivore crushing the entire world when Kamigawa rotated out? Seems that turned out to not be the case. That doesn’t mean Ted wasn’t basing what he said off good sense. The scale of this game is rather forgiving; mistakes of that ilk are quite common and not world-ending. I mean, c’mon — when it comes to prediction, an even half-talented Cold Reader can score one correct answer out of thirteen before his audience starts to feel that he’s a fraud.
The Rares
I figure most people will already know what they’re doing here. Big dragons are pretty easy stuff to follow (put them in decks that want big finishers? Jenius!). The Shifted Legends don’t excite me much (Jedit especially), and the Magus Cycle have some pretty obvious applications. You don’t need me to comment on the cost of Magus of the Coffers, or that Magus of the Arena doesn’t waste a land drop, or anysuch thing. Junk is also pleasantly obvious. No, this is a quick look at a handful of the rares that have inspired me with deck ideas, as I look over the spoiler.
Body Double
The main use I can see for this to us casual gamers is cute synergy with Protean Hulk. If you have a reusable source of sacrifice like, say, Greater Good, you can cash in the Hulk for +3 cards; Body Double copies the now-dead Hulk, and gets you a 1-drop who is, hopefully, not that embarrassing. While that’s a cute trick, it doesn’t resolve the issue of the actual Protean Hulk being an absolute pain in the backside to land on the table in the first place. You could also employ the Double in a Dredge strategy. UB lacks for things to target, but GU might offer you enough high-value dredgers that still do things. And I’ve wanted to use Think Twice with Dredge for some time.
Roiling Horror, Aeon Chronicler, Benalish Commander, Detritivore, Fungal Behemoth
My absolute initial reaction was to just ignore these cards whenever I spotted them on the spoiler. I simply figured the idea of paying more for a subtle, cumulative effect was more annoying than it was worth, and that it would rarely be worth it. In this way, I basically did an old (foolish) thing from my days of playing with cardboard. If a card had more than four lines of text, I tended to just ignore it. Hell, Copperhoof Vorrac (the heir of my only legitimate win versus a legitimately better player) was a mystery to me until about an hour before I sleeved him up for the first time.
These cards are of dubious quality at that first glance because of their complexity. Since they require you to pay the X, then get paid back for it over time, it feels cludgy, and there’s an element of mental math that’s just arduous enough to annoy me. I had to write out a diagram of it before I’d convince myself they weren’t god-awful. The best example is the Benalish Commander, really.
When you set the Commander up, choosing X at 1 is pretty reasonable, on turn three. Next turn, you have a 2/2 hasted man, which is not all that hot on its own but which thrives quite happily with other Soldier cards. If there were worthy creatures for the role, you could go Turn 1 Soldier (Kjeldoran Javelineer, Deftblade Elite), Turn 2 soldier (Uhhhh), Turn 3 Suspend Commander, Turn 4 crash in with a hasted 4/4. In this way, the commander will be a boon to theme decks, but I still don’t think it’s going to be good enough. 1-drop soldiers are rare enough, since we all know that trained men with swords and practice and armor are never going to be the equal of dogs and lions, but if you want one that can pick fights with a Bear, your options are even more limited.
The Roiling Horror also confusing, but he’s a bit easier. Basically, you want your opponent’s life total low, and your own total high. This is… pretty much not the kind of situation that calls for a deck that takes a long time to win. You could make some use of him with black’s Drain Life effects, but without odd circumstances, he’s very much a ‘win more’ creature… yet, due to his suspend-based abilities, he really is an unanswerable clock who whittles your opponent down with a few light hits, then closes with a haymaker they wouldn’t believe.
Befitting that, he looks badass.
As a Cantrip Beefy Haste Guy, Aeon Chronicler is pretty mediocre when you compare it to your other ‘card advantage’ win conditions right now. Draining Whelk and Teferi seem they’d both be better, and both have virtual haste as it is. All the chronicler offers is a bigger body than the Whelk a bit of the time, and the Whelk is a fifty-cent rare while the Chronicler will invariably sell for 3-4 tix for a few weeks after he finally limps onto MODO. Also, there’s something truly lovely about Whelking a Run.
Detritivore could be nice to have lurking in the wings as you unleash a Bust (more on that later). But you’d never suspend it for more than 2 for that very reason. And then it’s a 6-mana play to follow up another 6-mana play, and surely the workhorse there, though, is Bust. You’d be best off throwing out some 5-drop or other, or perhaps Magnivore itself.
Fungal Behemoth is actually a sleeper agent for the Simic. If you look at him as a 3-drop in a sequence of Simic Initiate, Aquastrand Spider, he can turn up on turn 4, with haste, and meet up with the Cytoplast Root-Kin out of your hand. By my count, that’d make him (presuming the creatures live),
1 from the Initiate
2 from the Spider
+1 from the Suspend
+3 from the Rootkin’s ability
+4 from the Rootkin
An 11/11 haste creature is not to be sneezed at. But a shock makes him a 9/9. A Twinstrike makes him a 6/6. And he still dies to Premature Burial. I’d still certainly give the fellow a shot; if nothing else, he could be the missing link in the Simic Equation.
Now, something I’ve not mentioned is the possibility of using Jhoira’s Timebug with any of these guys. I’m not keen on it — the timebug is slow, subject to the typical frailties of a creature, and doesn’t really offer that much. I mean, it can be used to draw a card every other turn with the Chronicler, or make a 1/1 token every other turn with the Commander. That doesn’t strike me as though it’d be worth it, since there are better 2-card combos that enable that kind of effect, or even single-card combos. Would Timebug + Commander be a better deal than Vitu-Ghazi, or Pride of the Clouds? Almost certainly not.
Temporal Extortion
We have a card a lot like this already, called Browbeat. And it doesn’t get worse the more damage you’ve already done to your opponent. In fact, when your opponent is on four life, Browbeat turns into 3 cards, rather than Shock for four black. While a cute idea, and an obvious extension of the mechanic, I feel that Extortion is just there to be an impressive looking spell. One of Maro’s Skill-testers, perhaps.
Fatal Frenzy
The obvious parallel is to Berserk. Not an awful comparison, and it’s in a better color right now. Ironically, the best card I can imagine twinning it with would be Groundbreaker. With all the creature removal around right now, I can’t see this being played much, though. In green, Berserk granted reach, which was rare. In red… it did little. I also don’t expect that it will prompt a resurgence of Vintage Psychatog.
Was it Peter Jahn who trampled over two chump-blocking Phyrexian Dreadnaughts with a Triple-Berserk’d Tog?
Boom/Bust
This one has me interested. Intrigued, almost. I don’t like land destruction strategies, unless they’re the kind that can unequivocally reset the clock. Desolation Angel was awesome — Stone Rain less so. I don’t see myself using Boom much — except to smash an annoying land like an Arena, or a Vitu-Ghazi. Bust, on the other hand, is a big effect — and I am a sucker for my big effects. Bust would work out well with a plan that wanted lots of artifact mana (like Wildfire), and perhaps wanted to time its effect to coincide with a big Suspend creature coming out?
If Bust doesn’t prove itself in standard, that could be a novel, cheap standard deck — a mono-red deck that uses Signets, Lenses and Stones to power out the 6-mana spell while a Keldon Halberdier ticked down his angry arrival. If Boom/Bust goes the way of the Dragons, and eventually claims prices above its obvious worth, then it might fit well as a ‘most expensive’ card in a deck.
Wild Pair
TIMMY!
Pretty ridiculous, I know. But it is a fun card. There’s a combo player out there who has already found the perfect creature combo to fetch up (Wall of Roots can, after all, hunt up Giant Solifuge), but such things do not remember that you’re dealing with a six-mana enchantment.
Oh, and it has to be the same amount. You can’t go get Body Double with anything, for example.
Vorosh, The Hunter
This guy deserves special mention because, for all that I liked the Snow Mana base for a 3-color build, there was no strong incentive to go GUB (for a mana base of snow forests, Dimir Aqueducts, and Frost Marshes to accompany Into the North). Bound/Determined, for example, sucked.
Now, we have some of that reason. He’ll be a bit hard to get, however, at least at first. However, getting a set of Dragons is easier than getting a set of lands that make that Dragon easily cast — and Vorosh has a very cool ability to go with his beatdown. A two-turn clock in this day of Turn One Shock Me.
Uncommon Knowledge
You have to be impressed with Ravnica block. Tournament pundits want to make a point of it, but standard is a really diverse beast right now, undergoing daily mutations. Given the harsh cut-off for power level in standard, this actually leaves a large body of cards as these odd orphans. Sometimes, in the middling seas of Tier 2, you can find pieces that have no practical application to the upper tiers that, combined, give you that giggle you want out of a casual deck.
Riftmarked Knight
It’s worth mentioning — no matter how silly it may seem right now to do so — that the token has haste, instead of having haste for a turn. So, and yes, this is a niche application but still, if you are in a situation where the knight and his token are alternating attacking and blocking, make sure you attack with the black one. At least, if you suspect your opponent might have something like a Confiscate or Enslave effect running.
Stormfront Riders
This is a far more intriguing card to me. Because it’s a rescue spell which has, basically, Buyback, it can be used to protect other, potentially more powerful threats. Furthermore, on its arrival, it automatically sets up (and replaces) a Sky Hussar.
The risk there is having a hand clogged with 5-mana creatures. A common complaint I’ve found when I play with the Sky Hussar is that the cards he best synergizes with (like Court Hussar) are slow and cludgy to get out in the first place. This card thwarts that – giving you in a clean sweep all the tappables you need to start drawing cards.
Dismal Failure
I have a history of liking long, grinding control decks. I don’t mind being patient, and I do love counterspells which Do Other Stuff, but I don’t think this Dismal Failure is going to be replacing Rewind any time soon. It’d probably be much more of a close fight for me, if not for the fact that Rewind has far better synergy in the UB control decks right now. Dralnu The Unplayable waves his flag and chuckles at us all for being silly.
Sulfur Elemental
I’m not sure I get this one. Flash and Split Second, but it’s against white where it shines. Is there some subtle pun or reference I’m missing with this one?
I suppose, on a pragmatic level, you could build a white-red deck that emphasized 2-toughness creatures and used Sulfur Elemental as a kind of powered-up Glorious Anthem, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s some punchline waiting to happen here.
Rough//Tumble
Pyroclasm + Dragon Killer. Uh… thank you!
Hunting Wilds
I played Explosive Vegetation a fair bit, and that was even without the ability to go tutor up Dual Lands. My main problem with the Veggies was that, of course, late game it was a dead card. Since the Veggies themselves put you at seven mana (presuming you hit your land drop), this card will be kickered more often than you think — though I don’t expect to see the lands running into the red zone with too much eager aplomb.
Kavu Predator
Hello… now this is novel. It’s rare to see Wizards completely obviate a card in the same block — the Kavu Predator is obviously much better than Ashcoat Bear (good times, eh, Bennie?), and might occasionally, I dunno, do something. I’m less inclined to play any kind of game that involves giving my opponent life just to increase the girth of my Kavu, though. With the white decks doing as they do right now, and likely the presence of Roiling Horror and other leeching cards (does anybody still play Ghost Council of Orzhova?), I think the Kavu will do just fine as a surprise blocker. [While this guy doesn’t have Flash, his life-gain growth ability may have some merit… – Craig.]
Once you accept that perspective, though, he becomes even more fun — the Predator will happily turn up, Flames of the Blood-Hand like, to laugh at the control player and his Big Dumb Elephant or Silly Faith’s Fetters. Mm. I’m going to like this little guy — if only because he brings a clever strategy to the table in green. A fair amount of the time he’s just going to be a bear, though — so don’t forget that he could just charge into the red zone.
The Commons
Sometimes a set will just bring an effect that you’ve wanted and haven’t had. Eye of Nowhere saw some Vintage play primarily because you could Burning Wish for it (and it might have foiled Chalice as well, I’m not sure — don’t know the format). Other times, it’ll be some other effects stuck together that you really wanted to have, but could never find in that construction. Mortify’s a good example (and to think we got tizzied up about Putrefy).
Aven Riftwatcher
White gained a few Vanishing cards that are certainly intriguing. A couple of cards have been wanting white guys worth bouncing for some time now, and Venerable Monk was given a spin once or twice (lurking in the casual trade room and looking for Venerable Monks is extremely embarrassing). The Riftwatcher basically kicks the Old Monkey to the kerb. Better body, better ability, and evasion as well — and in the kind of decks that would play the monk, the Riftwatcher is the same card, lacking a drawback. This set has me hankering to try out my Cloudstone Curio again, so I’m looking for new pieces.
Pallid Mycoderm
Curiously, I actually like this guy. He’s a more accessible version of Nemata, and he brings a big blocker’s body to the party. Between him and Thallid Shell-Dweller, there could be a strong base for a stalling multiplayer strategy. Plus, if Aaron gets all the Thallids out of his system, we can go back to sanity sometime.
Shade of Trokair
This would not be a common if it were all that good. The Suspend cost is quite marked (i.e., it sucks to draw him on turn 2), and the creature itself has no evasion. Unlike Black, who could use Nantuko Shade to force an opponent into overcommitting threats then Mutilate them away starting turn 2, the Shade of Trokair cannot land before the Wrath in a curve.
Whitemane Lion
A tricky customer. He’s good against targeted removal, but against mass removal, he’s basically making sure you draw another of what was going to die. That’s not a problem, but I fancy you’ll see more sweepers than pinpoint kill in the coming months of Standard. He gets the nod over Dust Elemental, however, because he’s cheap.
Right now, the creature I’d most want to Rescue and keep a threat on the board is Groundbreaker — a trick doable on turn 3. I’ve already been in a mindset for this kind of creature, playing as I have been Cloudstone Curio decks. I like the Lion the most for what he obviously does. But the other creatures have me intrigued as well — but not to be used as Rescuers at all.
Dreamscape Artist
I love me a Harrow, and this card’s existence in blue prompts a real eye-twist. It’s costed right — it can come down on turn two, and on turn three, allow a Harrow followed by, say, a Mana Leak or Remand. But you have to wonder, will any deck want that effect? I play lots of long-game Blue-Green decks that want to use silly permanents like Protean Hulk… but even then, I see the Dreamscape Artist as offering you something repeatedly, in exchange for waiting a turn. I fancy that wait is going to kill the card.
Still, I’m playing Mindlash Sliver without any other slivers these days, chances are I’ll eat my words.
Wistful Thinking
It’s not a big deal. Seriously, Stupor and Consult the Necrosages are both far better at doing what this card does, and they’re easily splashed, even to us budgeteers. You’re not making your opponent really lose that much, considering you’re digging them down.
Now, if you use this like a Super Careful Study, it might be worth it, but I fancy that the much more controllable Compulsive Research will maintain that position.
Blightspeaker
Hul-loooo… I like the Rebel Mechanic, and have for some time. This is a pretty neat addition. I was already thinking about splashing colors into my Rebel deck (blue proved the most effective, adding other Flash creatures and counterspells), but black could bring with it proactive solutions like Castigate, and the Suspend-hosing Conjuror’s Ban. Clever stuff.
The Rathi Trapper is a good enough reason to add black to both the creature base and the mana base; and it gives a bit more removal or control to an archetype lacking in it. And mercifully, removes the need to play with the unimpressive Zealot il-Vec.
Spitting Sliver
It’s been a long time coming, but I finally have a creature to pair with Death Pits of Rath. And hey, they can both be Brainspoiled for! Instead of say, spending four mana for Diabolic Tutor! More importantly, this — and the rest of the odd slivers in this set — are worthy of remark because what they represent. For the better part, each of these slivers presents an ‘odd’ ability. They don’t seem to fit — surely red would give out First Strike?
To actually understand why they’re in the color they’re in, you need to look at their bodies and their mana costs. A 3/3 for 5 with First Strike is pretty bad… but it’s on par with black’s standard of First Strikers. By making these effects ‘out of color’, Wizards have reminded us that the best color for a mechanic is not necessarily the same thing as the best place for a card.
Firefright Mage
Namedrop of Toggo detected. Card approved.
Fury Charm
Phwoar! What a selection of abilities! I wasn’t that impressed with the black, blue, or white charms — they felt very much as ‘more of the same’ from the charm department. But this one should replace Shatter in every casual decklist (if you had it there — and I know some of you did). The ability to push a creature over the brink or hurry out a Suspender is good, but that it’s on a staple effect is what puts it over the edge for me as a new staple. Shattering Spree required a heavy red commitment — this is far better.
Stingscourger
They’re just trying to get me interested in playing more stupid Curio decks, aren’t they? With a Mogg War Marshal, this could be the start of something silly and very fun.
Citanul Woodreaders
Hot damn! Okay, sorry, Wizards. Seriously. A 1/4 body for 3 is pretty damn good at holding the fort, and as a late-game creature it can cash in its value. Six mana is remarkably easy to get to these days, and it’s another thing that’s good with…
Wait for it…
Cloudstone Curio. I am starting to think that I’m getting to be obsessed. Pattern recognition is one thing, but this is a bit pathetic.
Reality Acid
This prompts me to immediately look for Cloudstone Curio’able enchantments. Even a 1-drop enchantment like Flight or Sea’s Claim would be fine — all I wanted was a way to make something ‘2UU, Destroy target permanent’.
The only ‘sure’ part of a list I ‘ve got lined up to test runs:
2 Curio
4 Drift of Phantasms
4 Reality Acid
The problem with this core is that it’s awfully flexible (what tragedy!). You could go white for Court Hussars and bounce them indefinitely with Azorius Heralds (enough to EASILY break the back of aggro), while using Calciderms to hold the fort and beat down. You could go red for Kher Keep, Mogg War Marshal and the new Goblin O’War. Or you could go green and use the Thallids to bounce your men at instant-speed. Tempting, either way. Of course, the Stormfront Riders could also have a home here — and so on. The core of the deck is there though. Green offers perhaps the best and ‘easiest’ enchantment to bounce — Utopia Sprawl — because it’s basically free if you can position it correctly.
On MTGO, be careful about the Curio and don’t rush it; the Curio does not give you the option to back out if you say ‘yes’ and realize a moment too late you meant ‘no’.
The Planeshifted Cards
Being realistic, there are… what, seven of these? Wizards took an easy path — a careful path — with many of these cards, finding things that were completely in flavor but nonetheless, only minimally relevant. These were really safe choices, and in some cases, I feel, inappropriate. My first criticism of the Planeshifted cards as a group is that they have far cooler card faces than normal Magic cards. I know, it’s a silly critique to have, but the white text on Damnation is badass. It actually makes me wish the normal cards looked that neat. This, however, might be an unfair statement — we often undervalue the familiar.
The other criticism is that the Planeshifted cards reek of special. They do not feel like they’re going to be repeated, which means they’re rare and precious things to be enjoyed. That would be good, all over, if not for the fact that many — even those that aren’t all that special – feel like they should be staple effects in their colors. I don’t think Damnation should be, but it does feel odd that the ‘best’ removal spell across time has routinely been in the third-best creature removal color, no?
Further, many of the effects have been ousted from the color over time, not because they’re bad, but because they’re not as good as other options. Master Decoy is good in white because white isn’t going to get Terror any time soon. In black? Why bother tapping the creature?
Ultimately, it’s a shame that these cards are portrayed as being unique, mythical creatures that are not part of ‘normal’ Magic. I really want Planar Chaos’ attitude towards flying, split cards, haste, and the like to bleed into normal Magic. And we’ve only been barking for the Pyromancer since 7th edition — what, 2002?
As for the Planeshifted cards, a number of them fall into the gulf of ‘who the hell cares’. Who cares who gets Ghost Ship? Bog Serpent? Healing Leaves, for god’s sake?! And those that don’t are pretty high-profile, like, oh, say, Damnation.
You can check everyone else’s set reviews for Damnation commentary. Hell if I’m ever going to get to play with one of them.
Mana Tithe
As part of my long-standing and extremely arrogant views on the color pie, I’ve often felt that counterspells should be shifted into other colors, just as card draw should be universal. Mana Tithe is a perfect example of the kind of counters that I feel are appropriate for White. Curiously, I don’t think that Maro’s idea of putting Memory Lapse in white is right — I think it’d be better in Red, where it has the air of procrastination. “I’ll deal with that later.”
Gossamer Phantasm
Hmm. An aggressively costed illusion, you say?
Krovikan Mist, Riftwing Cloudskate… you could have the edges of a fishy style deck here.
More pertinently, I like the idea that blue — with its illusions — can have creatures that are dissolved by a sharp look. I think that it’s a novel idea, especially since it means that one of blue’s enemies can affect its creatures purely because they are unreal.
Frozen Aether
It’s hard to look at several of the Planeshifted cards and not open with a ringing endorsement of ‘Of course! This makes complete sense!’ While I feel that Kismet was better served as being a tool in white’s arsenal, flavor-wise it’s equally appropriate in blue.
It’s curious, but lots of effects exist in that fashion, and I fancy Wizards are a little scared of popping them in other colors, purely because, well, it’s taking away from colors that need it. Adding the fast mana to red was probably a huge boon to them, because it gave red design space that wasn’t ‘more burn’.
As for the Frozen Aether, it might fit well in that aforementioned aggressive Fish deck, no?
Riptide Pilferer
Speak of the devil… I was actually a big fan of Headhunter when he first turned up. I was using him in Death Cloud decks, picking away at opponent’s hands and forcing them to play out threats quickly to block him — which of course, led to Cloud sweeping the board. The Pilferer is a merfolk (which is useful for Lord of Atlantis purposes), and can still do the same ‘stack damage and flip’ trick to get in an extra point of damage.
It’s kinda funny; Headhunter was below the curve for a black creature with discard stapled on. In blue, it’s pretty good, but not too good. I think the lesson of the Planeshifted cards is that there are lots of effects that are in-flavor for colors, but aren’t given to them; not because they’re wrong or overpowered, but because they’re not necessary. Black can tap guys, blue can force discard — but why bother with either when you can kill a guy outright, or counter the spell after they wasted mana on it?
Shivan Wumpus
This is one of a narrow set of land destruction cards that I was always fascinated to see at work. Simply put, if you can get the good opening (say, Busting a Flagstones into a Stone Rain), ShivanWumpus is just an undercosted enormous man. Some stupid players will let him be Stone Rain with buyback, but for the better part, he’s just a large fellow. Of course, that mandates that the rest of your game has gone perfectly.
(I wonder if there’s a whole article on that subject — do you plan for the ideal, or do you plan for the ohnoes?)
Ultimately, Shivan Wumpus will, if you play him with LD, be a tanky fellow who will munch on your opponent’s head with casual ease. But then you’ll get one of those games where you just Don’t Draw enough LD, or your opponent has Farseeks or Artifact mana — and suddenly, by faltering in the first three turns, your giant finisher is rubbish.
Now, in these situations, Detritivore and Bust are your best options to restablize the board. But I do fear that the Wumpus will be so rarely identified as merely enabled by a strategy, rather than on his own merits.
In non-LD decks, you might be able to get some sassy setups with the Wumpus — busting him out on turn three while your opponent glumly looks at their Garrison-and-basic-land — but I don’t feel that that situation will occur enough to make the card worth running, especially with Flagstones running around in the format, and if I add another clause to this sentence I will be in the running for the 2007 Sean McKeown Awards. Go me.
Now, another thing — Aaron said he wanted to reprint Argothian Wurm in 9th edition, as a vote against the Hunted Wumpus, but because the Wurm is on the reprint list, that’s simply not doable. This has me wondering if they are going to replace the Wumpus with, well, the other Wumpus come the next core set? Are these Planeshifted cards elaborate plants after all?
Pyrohemia
It’s only an idle thought at this point, but there are some creatures that can keep Pyrohemia around indefinitely in Standard — from Paladin en-Vec to Azorius First-Wing. But even simpler than that — and in one color, so it should appeal more obviously to the casual crowd – Kher Keep can be used to keep the Pyrohemia perpetually fed.
Harmonize
I wasn’t going to say anything, since you know, there’s not a lot to be said, but then people might think I was ignoring it. So just letting you know, I’m not. And god, this article’s 10 pages already and I’m not even close to done. Do you really want me to spout about Green right now?
The Vision
When I started writing this article, it was 4 PM, Monday (or Midnight for the MTG.com servers) and I was healthy. It’s now 4:17 PM on Tuesday and I feel awful. Today has been spent in bed, quietly hoping that the spin will stop rooming, while I periodically wake up, pull a ferret out of the bedding, and set it down on the ground to wrestle with its brethren. Outside, it’s some 25 degrees or so, but that doesn’t change the oppressively wet humidity. In short, right now, it is not a time for high vision or fancy design talk.
If you missed it when I mentioned it earlier, I was wrong. Mark Rosewater asked my first impressions of the set, and I gave them, but he went and proved me wrong. Now I’m disappointed with Planar Chaos — not because it’s bad, or badly put together. No, I’m disappointed that Planar Chaos has taken some things that I now think should be staple effects and made them exotic and rare.
Do it again, Mark. Integrate these design ideas into the color pie. I mean, the red Spiders are such a neat idea. The green fliers — there aren’t that many, after all — are neat. The blue discard is also cute and, as long as it feels worse than what black brings to the table, will never be a problem. These aspects of the color pie have been left alone, not because they’re wrong, but because the colors in question don’t need them.
Though I wonder… would putting Paralyze in White been a bad idea?
Hugs and Kisses
Talen Lee
Talen at dodo dot com dot au
* No lies, I haven’t studied memetics, as interesting as it is. There’s the edge of a greater idea here; a thought regarding the memetics of an set review, as a seed of greater ideas, looking for nothing more and nothing less than other fields in which to spread its memes; these memes bind and blossom to the memes the audience brings to the table providing crosspollination, and slowly but surely, an off-handed reference to Controvert winds up adjusting the path of a NASA satellite.