Friday, January 23rd Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re focusing on Conflux, and while I’ve been busy on my interviews with Magic movers and shakers over the past two weeks, over half of the set has made its way onto the interwebs. Not only that, but I’ve got my own personal spoiler direct from Wizards to gush about. Are you ready to see Cliffrunner Behemoth and talk about what might be in the rest of the set? Let’s go!Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re focusing on Conflux, and while I’ve been busy on my interviews with Magic movers and shakers over the past two weeks, over half of the set has made its way onto the interwebs. Not only that, but I’ve got my own personal spoiler direct from Wizards to gush about. Are you ready to see Cliffrunner Behemoth and talk about what might be in the rest of the set? Let’s go!
So a few months ago, leading up to the release of Shards of Alara, I was blessed with another preview card of my very own. This turned out to be Ad Nauseam, a card that has certainly made an impact in Vintage, Legacy, and even Extended. However, as a Timmy/Spike who focuses primarily on Standard and Extended, I had a hard time evaluating the card. While I could see its potential, I couldn’t put the pieces together to make it truly remarkable. I left my preview feeling as though I didn’t do the card justice. I loved the art, the effect, and the potential, but I was left unfulfilled.
That all changed with Conflux. After speaking to someone in marketing at Worlds, they assured me a nice Green fatty to gush over, and boy did I get it. Say hello to Cliffrunner Behemoth.
Cliffrunner Behemoth
3G
Rare
Creature – Rhino Beast
Cliffrunner Behemoth has haste as long as you control a red permanent.
Cliffrunner Behemoth has lifelink as long as you control a white permanent.
It’s revered for its power, celebrated for its grace, and feared for the avalanches triggered by its thunderous feet.
5/3
Oh yes. That’s right. Go ahead. Let it sink in.
All right, this guy is one hell of a fatty. He’s definitely undercosted in the right play situation, and luckily that situation isn’t too difficult to create. Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: This guy is ridiculously good with Figure of Destiny. This guy was practically created to give you the perfect turn 4 play after you cast your Figure of Destiny on turn 1, pumped him up on turns 2 and 3, and then smash into the red zone with a 4/4 Figure and a 5/3 hasty, lifelinking badass Cliffrunner Behemoth.
The other incredible interaction is with everyone’s new favorite Planeswalker, Ajani Vengeant. Considering many think that Kithkin with Ajani Vengeant is a powerful strategy, I don’t think it will take much for players to begin looking at Naya strategies as well, using a few trilands to smooth the mana over. All I know is, Cliffrunner Behemoth seems poised to destroy aggro mirror matches while making every Red/White card from Balefire Liege to Spitemare get another look from players in order to make him as powerful as he can be.
With that said, the naysayers will quickly point out that ‘It Dies To Everything,’ the oh-so-vaulted phrase brought up whenever another kick ass Green fatty hits the scene. Also note how his toughness is set ever so importantly at three, meaning he will still be taken down by Incinerate, Agony Warp, and Nameless Inversion. This is a balancing mechanism, because if Cliffrunner Behemoth was four toughness or higher you can bet it would run amok.
Did I also mention he’s a beast? Sure, the Ravenous Baloth interaction is rare, but it’s a factor.
Even without the lifelink, a 5/3 haste creature for four mana isn’t a bad deal, particularly at a comfy 3G. R/G beats is a favorite of many casual and competitive players, though you really want to get those Figures of Destiny in there, because he’s the guy who you could imagine would be riding on the back of Cliffrunner Behemoth to victory.
So here’s another awesome monster to crack at your Prerelease, as he is absurdly good in Limited, and one to begin thinking about working into your constructed decks with Planeswalkers and the like. Thanks to Wizards of the Coast for my very own preview, and be on the lookout for Cliffy in the red zone.
State of Conflux
Okay, the next segment has to deal with rumored cards. Cliffrunner Behemoth was your Official Spoiler that comes directly from Wizards. The rest of this comes from forum posters that have gotten things wrong in the past. So let’s take a look.
I’ll begin with White. And I’ll just go ahead and say it: I think the White cards in Conflux are some of the best White cards ever printed, period. They have three cards that are just out of this world.
The first is Path to Exile. You simply can’t deny the power of this card:
Path to Exile
W
Uncommon
Instant
Remove target creature from the game. Its controller may search his or her library for a basic land card, put it into play tapped, then shuffle his or her library.
Un-be-lievable. Easily the second best removal spell ever printed in the history of the game. Allow me to repeat: This is the best removal spell printed in the past decade. It has eclipsed Condemn, Wing Shards, Exile, Reciprocate, and Unmake as the best damn White removal spell in just about forever. I don’t think this card can really be overstated. It’s the sweet, loving shizzle, and it will find its way into every deck in which you play White for years to come. It’s playable in every format, and it will remind Vintage and Legacy players that they too need basic lands in their deck or risk the awkward ‘fail to find’ after a single White mana just got rid of their monstrously huge beatstick.
Foils of this card will go for approximately four hojillion dollars, and I suggest you get your set quickly. This is probably the best card in the set, and you can thank all that’s holy it isn’t rare. The last time a card was this useful and powerful it really was rare, and we call it Cashseize. Maybe you’ve seen it played here and there.
Moving right along, how about one of the best hosers printed since Flashfreeze? Say hello to Celestial Purge:
Celestial Purge
1W
Uncommon
Instant
Remove target red or black permanent from the game.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that says permanent. Thank you Wizards for finally giving us a powerful, cheap answer to Figure of Destiny, Bitterblossom, Demigod of Revenge, Bitterblossom, Ajani Vengeant, Bitterblossom, and Bitterblossom. I really appreciate the power level of this card in a multicolor environment, and with Red and Black cards absolutely dominating in various metagames, this could even be a good choice for your main deck in the upcoming Standard. Another White card that is absolutely superb and will be quite the expensive foil.
Keeping the hits coming, have you seen Lapse of Certainty?
Lapse of Certainty
2W
Instant
Uncommon
Counter target spell. If that spell is countered this way, put it on top of its owner’s library instead of into that player’s graveyard.
Yes, this isn’t Time Spiral, but that is most certainly a colorshifted Memory Lapse. Now back in the day, when Memory Lapse first appeared in Homelands, I recall many players thinking it was the worst counterspell ever. “It just lets them play the spell next turn!” they cried. However, this is 2009, and by now we know about this thing call Tempo. And Tempo is king in modern Magic, and so we can appreciate how we not only got Memory Lapse back, but we got it back in the best aggro color in the format. Many players still doubt the power of this card, and to them I say watch out. Kithkin were fantastic and plenty powerful with Mana Tithe, and with a full-blown counterspell they can be even better. Now it’s not just hedging your bets against a possible Force Spike, it’s hedging your bets against a card that says Counter Target Spell on it against a mono White deck. I know I can’t wait to Lapse of Certainty my first Cryptic Command or Wrath of God, and I bet it feels friggin’ fantastic.
Moving back down the mana cost chain, how about Mark of Asylum?
Mark of Asylum
1W
Rare
Enchantment
Prevent all noncombat damage that would be dealt to creatures you control.
I like this card a lot because it’s an extremely efficient Red hoser. Against a mono Red deck, things get pretty sticky once this hits play. Faeries will love it because it stops Pyroclasm effects, and White Weenie players will love it because it makes Knight of Meadowgrain that much more of a complete beating against the Red deck, though Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender is still a fine man. Either way, this is a solid and efficient rare that I look forward to ruining a burn players day with.
The last White card is Martial Coup. Check out this monster:
Martial Coup
XWW
Rare
Sorcery
Put X 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens into play. If X is 5 or more, destroy all other creatures.
In. Sane. C’mon now people, this is ridiculous. With all of these incredible tools, Mono White Control may actually be a viable deck again! Yes, it rocked the Louisville Extended PTQ a few weeks ago, but that was with the help of cards like Decree of Justice, Martyr of Sands, and Proclamation of Rebirth. In Standard we have this kick ass Wrath of God that not only clears that way but should provide you with the win in just a few turns. I love how powerful this is in limited, Standard and particularly Multiplayer, where you can clear out a whole table of dudes while having a host of your own to both attack and defend with. Just a kick ass card.
Next up we move into Blue and see one tremendous fatty. For the first time in forever, say hello to a kick ass Leviathan:
Inkwell Leviathan
7UU
Artifact Creature – Leviathan
Islandwalk, trample, shroud
7/11
Now I know this looks like Just Another Blue Monster, but look closer: With both Shroud, Trample and an incredibly huge and never-before-printed 7/11 power and toughness, this guy is just nuts with Makeshift Mannequin. A Reanimator’s dream creature, this bad boy pretty much demands a sweeper of some sort and is damn near unkillable otherwise. At least back in the day Simic Sky Swallower could reasonably be dealt with via Keiga and Meloku tokens. But a 7/11? A Kwik-E-Mart on legs? Watch out for this guy. He’s not the type you should be playing for its cost. Rather, get sneaky and put him into play in some other fashion.
Moving on to Black, take a look at what will surely be the basis for a new archetype, Nyxathid:
Nyxathid
1BB
Rare
Creature – Horror
As Nyxathid comes into play, choose an opponent.
Nyxathid gets -1/-1 for each card in the chosen player’s hand.
7/7
Yes, a 7/7 for three mana. And yes, you really do have Raven’s Crime in Standard along with plenty of other tools at your disposal. I think to fully appreciate Nyxathid you’ll need to understand the type of deck he’s best suited for. Quite simply you get to run the best and most efficient discard spells in the format while your opponent’s are reliant on those cards to win games. You have Thoughtseize and Raven’s Crime to begin the destruction, but look at these cards provided to you in Conflux:
Scepter of the Fugue
BB
Rare
Artifact
1B, T: Target player discards a card. Play this ability only during your turn.
Rotting Rats
1B
Common
Creature – Rat
When Rotting Rats comes into play, each player discards a card.
Unearth 1B
1/1
When you combine these cards with other overlooked rares like Cunning Lethemancer you suddenly find yourself wondering how your opponent will deal with a 7/7 that has a nasty habit of getting really big really quickly. Think about it: If they want to kill Nyxathid with Incinerate or Agony Warp, they will need to have four cards in hand when that spell resolves. That’s quite a few cards when dealing with a discard-themed deck, and Rotting Rats is also a fantastic way to get fatties in the yard for reanimation. I think it’s safe to say Nyxathid will be leading the charge this year for a new TarmoRack archetype… except, you know, without the Rack or Tarmogoyf.
Looking at Red, you can’t not gush over Banefire. My God.
Banefire
XR
Rare
Sorcery
Banefire deals X damage to target creature or player.
If X is 5 or more, Banefire can’t be countered by spells or abilities and the damage can’t be prevented.
Yes, that card really does say “Screw You, Faeries” if you look close enough. If there was any doubt this was the set which diminished the shining star of Fae dominance, it was this one. I don’t know what I can say about this X spell. It’s better than virtually any other X spell I can think of. Sure, Ghitu Fire was neat, but you could still counter it. Urza’s Rage was an awesome burn spell, but you had to pump a ridiculous amount of mana to make it badass. No, this one needs a mere six mana to be an absolutely ridiculous and an unstoppable force. This means six mana will kill whatever it is that you thought your Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender would save, including your own ass, and no, that Cryptic Command won’t do jack diddly against this.
What this spell does is make you look at how one would stop it, and without Venser, Shaper Savant in Standard our only option is to redirect the spell with Swerve. But what else redirects spells? Oh yeah, what will end up being the focus of a huge number of bad beat stories in 2009, Wild Ricochet was born to mess with this card. Not only do you get to redirect it back to their face, you get a second copy and yes, the full cost of X is copied as well! Wild Ricochet has been underrated for a while now and it’s time for it to shine once more. Don’t forget to pick up your copies of this kick ass sideboard card, because Banefire will surely be one of the biggest and best chase rares from Conflux.
Speaking of destroying Fae, how about the other ‘screw you’ card from Conflux? It’s called Volcanic Fallout:
Volcanic Fallout
1RR
Uncommon
Instant
Volcanic Fallout can’t be countered.
Volcanic Fallout deals 2 damage to each creature and each player.
Haha! That’s right, uncounterable Steam Blast that was upgraded with both Instant and Uncounterability for a mere Red mana in replacement of a colorless mana. Now that’s an upgrade I can get behind. This will allow you to get Faeries in a very compromising position and fast, while allowing you to also counteract the upcoming Lapse of Certainty against Kithkin. While it appears to be a sideboard card at best, it is one of the best and most powerful tools you can have against Faeries and token-based strategies.
Next up I want to take a look at the latest edition to the ‘-ling’ Super Cycle, Thornling:
Thornling
3GG
Mythic Rare
Creature – Shapeshifter
G: Thornling gains haste until end of turn.
G: Thornling gains trample until end of turn.
G: Thornling is indestructible until end of turn.
1: Thornling gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
1: Thornling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
4/4
Now the issue here isn’t really the card. The card is fine. I don’t think it’s going to be that impacting in Constructed that much, and the haste ability is a bit awkward, but it’s a cool, fun Green monster. The problem here is the art. Not since Countryside Crusher has art been so hideously mismatched with its name. I don’t know about you, but I always thought one of the coolest things about the ‘-ling’ creatures, that is Morphling and Torchling, was that those two cards seemed to set a precedent of what we should expect future ‘-lings’ to adhere to. Specifically the image of a clone with something slightly different…but instead, we have Moo Moo Plow Cow here decimating the countryside and looking silly. This is an art fail of epic proportions and I must say I am seriously disappointed.
Moving on to multicolor cards, I now know why Aaron Forsythe was regretting the power of Vivid Lands and Reflecting Pools at Worlds, because look at this five-color beast:
Child of Alara
WUBRG
Mythic Rare
Legendary Creature – Avatar
Trample
When Child of Alara is put into a graveyard from play, destroy all nonland permanents. They can’t be regenerated.
6/6
Holy crap, that really is an Oblivion Stone with big, scary legs. This is exactly what 5-Color Control was looking for. Sure Archon of Justice was cute at removing an annoying nonland permanent, but why not just blow them all up? While Path to Exile will make this a bit more difficult to trigger, there’s nothing like knowing your Wrath of God is going to kill not only your Child of Alara and the opposing Bitterblossom tokens, but their Bitterblossom and Jace Beleren as well. That is good, good stuff right there. In the meantime, it’s still a 6/6 trampler that must be dealt with, as that magical word Trample is yet another knife in the gut of Faeries. No more endless chump blockers will be enough for this guy, and I expect to see Mr. Oblivion Stone kicking ass soon on a tournament table near you.
Next we need to quickly mention Progenitus. Now, I love me an epic creature… but wow, is that an incredible monstrosity! Protection from EVERYTHING. Yes, everything. You ask yourself, “Does it have protection from–” and then you stop because the answer is “Yes.” Can it be targeted or blocked or even dealt damage by something? Nope, nope and nope. And the art. My God, the art is just incredible. May I please have this in some uber-ridiculous dual-screen ready resolution and soon? That would be great, thanks. Now this is a creature with not only the name, art, and power of a ten mana all-mana-symbol dude, but how about that flavor text. “The Soul of the World has returned.” Damn, that’s just fantastic. Turns out the runner-up was “In times of badassery, he was a badass.” Also, I’m pretty sure Oath of Druids players around the world creamed their jeans on this one. Progenitus was just made for ending games.
Last, let’s take a look at the long-awaited Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker:
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
4UBBR
Mythic Rare
Planeswalker – Bolas
+3: Destroy target noncreature permanent.
-2: Gain control of target creature.
-9: Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker deals 7 damage to target player. That player discards seven cards, then sacrifices seven permanents.
5
Yeah baby, look at that Ultimate ability! Thank you sir may I have another? I don’t know how you spell win, but that Ultimate ability does a damn fine job of it. This is a Timmy-powered Planeswalker that is high on fun and low on replacing Cruel Ultimatum as the over-the-top spell of choice for Five-Color Control decks. With that said, I love how fantastic Nicol Bolas looks, I love how his first ability will almost always destroy an opposing Planeswalker first and foremost, and with his ability to both protect himself with Control Magic and end the game with his Ultimate, Nicol Bolas is as big, flashy, and over the top as I expected him to be.
So that’s it for this week, folks. I hope you enjoyed my rundown of my favorite Conflux cards, and we’ll see you here next week as we prep for the Conflux Prerelease with what will inevitably be a full spoiler, and get ready to sail on the Game in the Gulf cruise just a week later. Until next time, Magic players… this is Evan Erwin. Tapping the cards… so you don’t have to.
Evan “misterorange” Erwin
eerwin +at+ them gmails +dot+ com
www dot TheMagicShow dot tv
Look ma, Yet Another New Domain Name! (It’ll debut next week)