Hello folks, and welcome back to one of the oldest ongoing casual columns on the ‘Net. If you read last week’s article, then you know that I am reviewing the entire Morningtide Set from several casual angles.
Five Color, Multiplayer, Peasant, and a general Casual Toolbox are the rankings that I am using for cards. I also talk briefly about the card in question. Last week, I covered the White and Green offerings, and today I’ll head through the casual audiences to my ranking of the Red and Black cards.
Note that any card with an asterisk beside is denotes a card going into Abe’s Deck of Happiness and Joy, while a card with an exclamation point denotes a card making the cut for The Essentials.
Without further ado, let’s head into the realm of the casual review.
The Red Cards
5C: 2
MP: 1
CTB: 1.5
In Five Color, where the format is often about playing fast creatures, this is an 8/8 trampler for four mana that might get your opponent a Serendib Efreet or Loxodon Hierarch. On the other hand, it might get your opponent a Protean Hulk, and that’s not good. This is suicide in multiplayer where Akromas and Darksteel Colossi are lurking. It’s not that great to build around. I mean, I can think of ways to do so, but not that many.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
CTB: 1.5
Reprint. He wasn’t that good the first time around, and time has not changed him.
5C: 1
MP: 2
CTB: 2
There are giants cheaper than this guy, in order to pump him up. He needs haste for a big ol’ smackdown prior to dying from opposing removal. Remember that Changelings are giants too.
5C: 1
MP: 2
PEZ: 1.5
CTB: 2
Another giant helper is perfectly acceptable, and a warrior assistant is fine too. Despite the reinforce ability, this card is underpowered compared to some previous Bannerets, which have been pertinent in the red zone. This is a 1/1 creature for two mana with no red zone abilities. At least Thornscape Familiar had first strike.
5C: 2
MP: 1
CTB: 1.5
At first, I thought this was a very powerful creature, but then I realized that you won’t draw a land while it is in play during your draw step naturally (you might with a Howling Mine, Teferi’s Puzzle Box, etc). The creature is still good in Constructed tournaments once you have your mana set. Except for the double Red cost, this would be a perfectly acceptable three drop in an aggro 5 Color deck. You just don’t want to be Armageddoned while this is out. Friends don’t let friends play cards like this in multiplayer. Good in Constructed, lousy here.
5C: 1
MP: 2
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1.5
Because of the risk of blocking it, a lot of players may opt to take the two damage. On the other hand, a lot of players (like me) will just go ahead and play the odds. Unlike many clash cards, this is a feast or famine card, because you have to attack with an otherwise Grey Ogre in order to get the possible effect.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1
Even as a recursive ability, this doesn’t have much use, except occasionally in multiplayer when you can make a player’s creature unable to block, thereby enticing another player to attack.
5C: 1
MP: 1
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1
This is Guided Strike without the card draw. It’s boring, and frankly, it won’t work as a Giant Growth or Brute Force in many situations, instead sitting useless in your hand.
5C: 1
MP: 2
CTB: 3
Like other champion cards, this taps into a cavalcade of tricks that have already been established. With a goblin champion, we already know some great ideas. From Goblin Marshall to Siege-Gang Commander to Mogg War Marshall, there are a lot of options around. The shaman part doesn’t thrill me. The Kamahl the First ability is certainly nice.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1
I literally yawned as I was reading this card (although that may be from sleepiness). I like the subtle nod to Errantry from long ago, but this is simply not good enough to exploit the Errant ability. Maybe if it got +3/+3 and trample if it attacked alone it’d have been more interesting.
5C: 1
MP: 1
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1
Seriously, Mudbutton sounds like the name of someone’s cat. I can never get excited about a creature called Mudbutton. It’s a cute name. They could reprint Jackal Pup as Mudbutton McTavarees III, and I would think it’s junk. This is your Mons’s Goblin Raiders of the set. Normally a vanilla 1/1, it is occasionally a 2/2 instead. Unfortunately, you cannot rely on when it gets bigger, and it’s not good enough to build around.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
CTB: 2.5
The elemental and shaman triggers are less powerful, but you can build your deck around them. A Pyroclasm trigger is pretty good, just make sure your deck can survive. Subterranean Spirit is both Pro Red and an elemental and would be a good inclusion.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
CTB: 1.5
Again, I am unconvinced of the value of shamen. I haven’t really seen any good shamen that would make the tribe amazing that you can’t use elsewhere. For example, Lightning Crafter is solid, but you can use the Crafter with goblins, so there is no need to pump the shaman angle.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
CTB: 1
This is worse than a lot of other burn, and the chance for recursion is not great. I’d rather play something like Magma Jet than Release the Ants.
5C: 1
MP: 2.5
CTB: 2
This card has some value in multiplayer, where you can use it on large creatures you do not control. Watch as someone’s Eternal Dragon and someone else’s Archangel duke it out in the air and both lose. Also note that although the no-creature-types-in-common thing might be clever, if you are spending four mana at sorcery speed, I don’t think that removing it would have been unreasonable. Then Rith and Teneb could duel it out. Can’t two dragons be rivals? What about two goblins? Ah well. I like the name of the card, but I think the name leads us down a path that the mechanics do not. It doesn’t justify why creatures of the same type cannot fight. The name could have been something like “Prejudicial Manners” (which is not a good name) or “Haughty Hissy Fight” or something, to demonstrate the outside your own race things.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1.5
This was a White card for just one mana, hitting either attackers or blockers. This is a true burn spell, but at four mana, it’s a bit clunky I expect to see it solely as a finisher in decks that make a lot of creatures of the same type. Sac Myr Incubator at the end of your turn, make 30 1/1 Myr tokens, then untap, Roar of the Crowd one player for 30 damage, and then attack the other with the tokens. Post combat, sac all of the tokens to hit the third and final player for thirty life from a Goblin Bombardment. Sounds great, right? Why isn’t this card getting higher scores? Mob Justice did it without the creature type restriction and for half the mana. It can’t hit creatures, but you don’t play Roar of the Crowd in order to off a Mystic Enforcer.
5C: 1
MP: 1
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1.5
With no innate ways to get around creatures, the sacrifice ability of the Pathblazer really isn’t anything useful. Now, drop a mana off the cost, and make it unable to block, and you have a real card. It would be getting 3 and 3.5 in the non Five Color ratings.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2.5
CTB: 3.5
I like the mini-Wheel of Fortune here. With a Mirri’s Guile, Sylvan Library, Sensei’s Divining Top, Scroll Rack, Soothsaying, Elemental Augury, etc, you get a new set of four cards in your hand each turn, and you get to look at some new cards at the top of your library. If that deck exists, this is the engine for it. Kinship goblin has some usefulness, and kinship shaman, if you can find one or two other shamans worth playing (and I’m not sure you can) gives you another option. This is powerful against control strategies that like to build up a hand. It’s also a great foil against discard decks that want to get all players down to no cards in hand for Ensnaring Bridge activations and whatnot.
5C: 1.5
MP: 1
PEZ: 1.5
CTB: 2.5
Sacrifice a land may not be great at first, and in many formats it just isn’t that saucy. However, as a tool for your toolbox, it is pretty unique. At instant speed, you can pop your Flagstones of Trokair or put a land you want to replay in your graveyard, and then play Life from the Loam or Crucible to bring it back. Lands you might want to reuse include Gemstone Mine with its counters, hideaway lands after they’ve used a card, and so forth. Maybe you played Tolaria West early for the mana, now you sac it to a Shard Volley and return it with Life from the Loam in order to transmute it. Maybe you are getting your land count down for Land Equilibrium. There are a lot of uses here.
5C: 1
MP: 2
CTB: 3
This is strong in some decks, requiring a commitment to the tribal, but many decks already do that. This is a cheap enchantment and it can work against other decks well. Your horde of 7 1/1 goblin tokens are now pretty spiffed up, and you’ve seen all of the elf token generation in this block.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
CTB: 2.5
It’s difficult to tell if this is something you want to play and then leave on the board as a trap, a la Bogardan Firefiend or the Kamigawa legendary dragons, or if you just want to evoke it out for the damage. Either way, it’s pretty good, and I see a use for it in many decks.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
PEZ: 1
CTB: 2
Although not a bad card per se, it’s a slow card that isn’t that great. Stingmoggie is a horrible name, again entering the realm of the cute. I don’t want my creatures, and especially my Red creatures, to sound like something fluffy. With a bow.
Stomping Slab
5C: 1
MP: 1
CTB: 1.5
“Good in Limited, bad in Constructed.” You see that review all of the time, and this is the perfect opportunity for me to slip that into one of my reviews. This is simply ungood in Constructed. [Surely this is terrible in Limited too…? — Craig.]
5C: 1.5
MP: 1.5
PEZ: 1.5
CTB: 2
The redeeming grace of this card is that it at least is a 2/1 for two mana. If you ever use its ability it will die, barring various other cards that might save it. You need to play it in a deck with elementals, obviously. Get it protection, and it’s a cheap Visara. I’d look at Light of Sanction.
Taurean Mauler * !
5C: 2
MP: 5
CTB: 4
This is another example of the reason that I switched my set reviews to more than just Five Color. In Five Color this isn’t an embarrassing card, but it’s not great. In multiplayer, this is a house of indeterminate size. As a deck building tool, this gives you all of the flexibility of a changeling but with the power of a house. In other words, this is one of the best changelings.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
CTB: 2
Of the “Clash, if you return, return to your hand” cards we’ve reviewed thus far, this is by far the best. A potentially reusable X spell can kill people. Now, in the pantheon of X spells, I still prefer entries like Death Grasp and Rolling Thunder, but this is much better than dreck like Blaze, Lava Burst, and even Kaervek’s Torch. Better than Disintegrate and Ghitu Fire. Worse than Invoke the Firemind. At the same level as Illuminate. Maybe as good as Fanning the Flames, maybe not (FTF is a guaranteed reuse, but it costs mana).
5C: 1
MP: 2
CTB: 2.5
This is a card with some potential, and warriors are a pretty solid tribe. They’re nothing special, but they are better than tribes like shamen.
War Spike Changeling
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
PEZ: 1.5
CTB: 2
Sure, it’s a changeling, but is not a good one. After the power of the Taurean Mauler, this is pretty lousy. You can do all of the changeling tricks, and as such it has some value as another entry in the toolbox, but otherwise it’s not much.
The Black Cards
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
CTB: 2.5
Although this creature, while in play, is worse than other options, like Organ Grinder, its ability to self-resurrect is pretty cool, especially in a goblin deck. There are some great rogue tricks in this set, and it might be worth exploring a rogue deck. Either way, you can return a decent enough beater over and over again. Just remember to always keep a goblin or rogue in hand for post Wrath recursion. Do note that blocking is more important in multiplayer than in duels, and the card has less value there as a result.
5C: 2
MP: 2
CTB: 2.5
The beauty of this is that it fuels your rogue or faeries tricks post-Wrath. It’s a Breeding Pit for half the mana, no upkeep, and it gives you a 1/1 flyer. The life loss is often completely meaningless. After all, your creatures will be beating down for more life lost by your opponent than for you. Alternatively, you will be blocking bigger creatures than the life lost, turning it into a sort of Forcefield. This is a solid card with a lot of uses.
5C: 1
MP: 1
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1.5
It’s not worth it. Lose a life to make a Green mana on a 1/2 two mana Black creature? There are so few uses for such a niche card, that you might as well not even bother. This is about a bad as Vesper Ghoul. Even Helionaut makes any color of mana and flies (and costs a colorless instead of a life loss). It is mana acceleration, even if it’s not very good and pretty painful, but still, I don’t like it at all. Now, if they had printed Elves of Deep Shadow as a Black card that made Green mana, it’d have much higher scores, because at least it would be a first turn mana accelerant. Dropping it to two mana, and just raising the defense one, makes this pretty lousy. No one plays the two mana Elves when they are in Green, like Wirewood Elf. If you aren’t playing that junk, you aren’t playing this either.
5C: 1.5
MP: 3
CTB: 3.5
Prowl costs are easier to get in multiplayer, where the likelihood of an unblocked attacker is greater. Then if you hose another player with Earwig Squad, you are doing very well for yourself, because the one you attack won’t be as upset, and the one who got Jester’s Capped won’t have taken damage. In fact, there might be a few players who would willingly take a damage from a Goblin/Rogue in order to Cap another player. Playing a 5/3 beater on turn 3 is also pretty handy.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2.5
CTB: 2.5
Making lands creatures is normally a Green ability, but I love the flavor of the Black treefolk that animates the Swamps to attack. Unlike the lousy Blightsoil Druid, I like this Green bleed, because it was done well. Swinging or blocking with two 3/5s is good enough, and it will keep players from attacking you mercilessly. You can also turn opposing Swamps into creatures in response to a Wrath effect or whatnot — a handy trick in multiplayer. Drop Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, and you can taint all lands, thus killing opposing lands like Kor Haven and Academy Ruins.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1.5
I’m not a major fan of these cards, and this Dry Spell one is pretty lousy. I’m thoroughly unimpressed.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2.5
PEZ: 2.5
CTB: 2.5
This has the best name of the Bannerets. As a Banneret for goblins, it is pretty strong, and it can help out your rogues as well. It has haste, making it better than that Red one by far. With two pertinent creature types, this is a great familiar. Since these are exactly like the familiar cycle from Planeshift, which reduced the cost of two colors by one (here’s its two creature types by one), I would have loved to have seen then with familiar in the title. Then they could have saved the Banneret names for something else later.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1
Final Blow isn’t a very good card, but at least it is an instant so it has some value. We also already had a 187 creature with a Final Blow — Orzhov Euthanist. This is unimpressive, because it is almost always a 2/2 flyer for four mana with nothing special attached. Now, give it flash, which a lot of faeries have, and it’d jump up in value significantly. As it is, this is pretty crappy, and I’m the guy who loves 187 creatures.
5C: 2.5
MP: 2
CTB: 2
In Five Color, if you have an extra turn in the bank, play this and you’ll likely win. You’ll take your extra turn, and get a card to allow you to take another turn, and so on and so on. However, with Time Walk banned, the likelihood that you’ll get started revolves around five mana cards like Time Warp or Temporal Manipulation. Still, there is a market in Five Color for this card. Play it at your own risk, however, because your opponent(s) are likely to abuse it with ease. At the multiplayer table, never use it against me… I’ll win.
5C: 2.5
MP: 2.5
CTB: 4
Another Mind Twist, even one that costs an extra Black mana, is really, really strong. I can see this getting play in any format in which the card is legal. In multiplayer, these cards are not as good as they are in duels, because you can only nail a single player, who then has a vendetta for the game. However, taking down a person who is a threat is always a good choice.
5C: 1
MP: 2
PEZ: 1.5
CTB: 2.5
Although it can tap into the changeling tricks, the card itself isn’t very good. It doesn’t even have deathtouch naturally, you have to pay mana for it. That may keep a few attackers away in multiplayer, but it’s usually crap.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
PEZ: 2.5
CTB: 2.5
This is a solid enough card for duels, but in multiplayer, hitting one opponent for three isn’t that great. There are much better prowl cards out there.
5C: 1
MP: 2
CTB: 2
Its kinship ability does hit every opponent for two life, so t has some value in multiplayer. As a 3/2 flyer, it can also nip in for the occasional hit. Or mug up the skies. It even has a splashable casting cost, requiring just one Black mana.
5C: 1.5
MP: 1.5
CTB: 2
This is much better than Morsel Theft, but the uncommon label removes it from serious contention from Peasant decks, while the card again doesn’t work that well in multiplayer games.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
CTB: 2
Even with flash, the fact that this just hits one card in a graveyard hinders it from seeing play to my mind. It’s simply not good enough to see play in any dedicated deck. However, as a flash combat trick, it redeems its score a tiny bit, because it is a nice surprise, especially in Black, which is bereft of many flash creatures.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
CTB: 2.5
At least it’s a Bog Imp that pumps subsequent rogues, which, as I have said, seem pretty solid in this set. You also get the bonus to creatures with +1/+1 counters, and this time, the Abyssal Specter ability is pretty solid.
5C: 1
MP: 1.5
PEZ: 2
CTB: 2
I’d almost always rather have something like Rend Flesh, Eyeblight’s Ending, or even Terror than this. It’s too dependent on game state to be reliable. You don’t want to have four humans out when you play this on a Serra Angel, only to force your opponent to use a Swords to Plowshares on one of your creatures so her Angel doesn’t die.
5C: 2
MP: 2
PEZ: 2.5
CTB: 3.5
It’s no Carnophage or Sarcomancy, but this is single handedly one of the best one drops for Black ever. It triggers prowl cards with its goblin rogueishness. It’s a great first turn drop for goblins. I love it! Move over Stone-Throwing Devils.
5C: 1
MP: 1
PEZ: 1.5
CTB: 1.5
This card is, um, not as good as the above card. With a 40% chance, roughly, of being good and a 60% chance of being bad, this is not worth the risk. Yuk.
5C: 1.5
MP: 1.5
CTB: 2
Not bad as a reanimation trick, and yet, it has that 40% success rate, otherwise making it an expensive Raise Dead. Barring a deck specifically designed to abuse the clash, it’s not that good at all. Raise Dead doesn’t get much play, after all, and this is usually worse.
Scarblade Assassin
5C: 1
MP: 2.5
CTB: 3.5
I like recursive creature kill, and this is basically Visara-lite. It has a limited number of uses and a smaller body, which can keep opponents from focusing on the card too much. On the other hand, this is a perfectly acceptable aggro creature for the early game, and a good killer later. Take a look at other aggressive creatures, including an assassin like Silent Assassin.
Squeaking-Pie Grubfellows
5C: 1
MP:2.5
PEZ: 1.5
CTB: 3
This is one of the better kinship cards I’ve seen. It multiplayer, it’s worth playing against your opponents for hitting them all for a card. This is a card worth building around for purposes of a deck. Well done.
5C: 1.5
MP: 2
CTB: 3
Obviously, this is good if you have goblins, and bad if you don’t. You don’t want all of your goblins to get axed and then lose this. Just keep a few instant ways of making goblins in case of emergency (like Moggcatcher untapped with three mana unavailable). This is worth splashing for in any goblin deck, even one not normally oriented towards Black. I like this card a lot.
5C: 1
MP: 2
CTB: 2.5
This is another fine prowl card. You can prowl out a 2/1 creature for 1B and get an ability that helps your rogues. Not bad at all.
5C: 1
MP: 1
PEZ: 1
CTB: 1
Now, I like creature removal, and I like it so much I play Chill to the Bone. However, a five mana Dark Banishing, that allows regeneration and makes a 1/1 flyer is arguably the second worst common Terror effect ever printed (after Death Bomb). This is not a good card, and don’t be seduced to play it outside of the most dedicated faerie decks.
5C: 2
MP: 3
CTB: 3.5
A Cruel Edict or a way of making some creatures all at the same time. Make rogues for your prowling. In multiplayer, if a card has the potential to kill both of the major threats — Darksteel Colossus and Akroma the White. This gets play.
5C: 1
MP: 2
PEZ: 1.5
CTB: 2
This is just another Hollow Dogs. What do I mean? Well, it seems ever since Hollow Dogs, Wizards makes these 3/3 Black creatures for 4B that have an ability for Limited. Examples include Hollow Dogs, Plague Dogs, Phyrexian Bloodstock, and so forth. This is another in that line. It’s alright in Limited, and in multiplayer you’ll often hit a Birds or something. I’d rather play Bad Potato for those purposes though (Plague Spitter)
5C: 1
MP: 2
CTB: 2.5
A more expensive Goblin Warrens attached to a 2/1 creature for two mana. Interesting, but it’s obviously not as powerful as the original which was less fragile and required less mana on each activation. Note the tokens are rogues for all of your prowling needs.
…
Well, that brings us to the end of another article of happy reviewing. This week we are at 16 pages of Word. Awesome. Next week we finish up the set.
Until later,