Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to be delving into Alara Reborn spoilers, and what can I say? This looks to be the best set in years to play and purchase. Future Sight-level goodness all around, we’ll look into just how good Cascade really is, and my favorite cards from the set. Let’s go!
Reborn Spoilin’ Time!
Okay, the set is here and it is friggin’ fantastic. I have so many favorites I don’t know where to begin. First we’ll begin with a kick ass card I spoiled last week that got even better after press time. Remember Qasali Pridemage? Can you say Exalted? Wow! The man is even better than expected, and common to boot. That’s some goodness that made a potentially $2 uncommon much more affordable. This is one of those playsets you’ll be using for awhile.
Here’s one out of the batch:
Nulltread Gargantuan
1UG
Uncommon
When ~ comes into play, return a creature you control to the top of its owner’s library.
5/6
Absolutely. Insane. Love this guy. Completely love it. I love how it works with come into play creatures like Elvish Visionary, and I love how sick it is in Bant. Put your Noble Hierarch on top of your library, then play it and still get the Exalted bonus and smash in with a 6/7? Hell yeah! This is the closest thing to a Tarmogoyf as I’ve seen in a long time. Sure, it’s not a two mana no-drawback 5/6 like Tarmogoyf usually is, but the ability to combo with virtually every comes-into-play ability, whether that’s Mulldrifter or Loxodon Hierarch in Extended, is something to celebrate.
But what about this powerful weapon, called Dauntless Escort?
Dauntless Escort
1GW
Creature – Rhox Soldier (R)
Sacrifice Dauntless Escort: Creatures you control are indestructible this turn.
3/3
That’s just fantastic. That’s the best creature you could possibly have in this metagame fully of Wrath of Gods and Volcanic Fallouts and even Maelstrom Pulses. This guy has very solid stats and will most likely see his way into many a G/W Stompy or Zoo deck in Extended I think. He makes one-sided Wrath of Gods not only possibly but easily doable with upside, and smashes into the red zone in the meantime. Just insane in the combat step, and even better during your opponent’s main phases.
In the classic Spoiler Disappointment column, we have Ethersworn Shieldmage. You know what Spoiler Disappointments are, don’tcha? They’re when a card is spoiled incorrectly for a period of time and then, as must happen, the truth comes out and the card is much less powerful than originally foretold. So here’s what Ethersworn Shieldmage said for two days:
Ethersworn Shieldmage
1UW
Flash
When ~ comes into play, prevent all damage that would be dealt this turn.
2/2
This is obviously bonkers. This card would be a chase rare from the get-go and would be a force in Standard and Extended overnight. The implications are just incredible and kind of warping. So two days later, I found out the actual wording:
Ethersworn Shieldmage
1UW
Common
Flash
When ~ comes into play, prevent all damage dealt to artifact creatures until end of turn.
2/2
Yeah, not much to see here. So you can save your Tidehollow Sculler from Volcanic Fallout in draft? That’s great! Moving on!
Cascade is up next. Now this kind of deserves its own little section, as Cascade is a lesson in both design and development. Let’s take a look at both sides.
On the design side, Cascade provides you incredibly fun experiences. The act of flipping over cards in your deck until you hit a nonland spell is incredibly fun and random – since you don’t know what spell you’re going to flip over, it’s always a nice and welcome surprise. Who doesn’t like free spells? And what those free spells may be will give you moments like the Craig Jones Lightning Helix at PT: Honolulu, or the Runner-Runner-Runner from Nassif against Chapin in Worlds. I can assure you something insane with Cascade will be happening at PT: Honolulu, and we’ll be talking about it for weeks if not forever.
On the development side, Wizards R&D know how insanely broken free spells could be, because they’ve proven themselves busted in the past – just see the Storm mechanic or the untap mechanic from Urza’s block. So they are incredibly selective on what spells get Cascade, at what cost, and what those spells do exactly. The result is giving us just a few ‘solid’ spells with Cascade which appear to quickly impact Constructed, a few ‘maybe’s’ to think about using, and some utter jank that is so bad you wonder if they’re putting Cascade on horrible spells just to see if you’ll play them.
Let’s get the best out of the way. From what I’ve seen so far, Bloodbraid Elf is head and shoulders above all other Cascade spells. Patrick Chapin has gone say far as to say “[Bloodbraid Elf] may prove to be the best card in the set.” He also goes on to say it may be on the power level of Spectral Procession, a.k.a. Three Dudes. And three flying dudes for just three mana, as you can see if you’ve played competitive Magic in the past six months, is pretty frickin’ solid. Bloodbraid Elf is like your own little Broodmate Dragon if it flips a Woolly Thoctar, the ultimate hasty Nekrataal if you flip up a Terminate or Path to Exile, and it keeps the goodness going if you flip up something like Ardent Plea or how about this new Cascade card…
Violent Outburst
1RG
Instant
Cascade
Creatures you control +1/+0 until end of turn
And from that you flip over Jund Hackblade and you go absolutely nuts with a 4/2 haste Elf and a 4/2 Chomp Chomp’ing mofo.
The best part about Cascade is that it gives you the flexibility of building your deck to take advantage of it. If you play a card like Ardent Plea in your deck, you can actively choose to build your deck to only have a few one or two drops, better defining what it is you’ll flip over. Whether that’s Path to Exile or Meddling Mage, it’s still incredibly exciting.
Bituminous Blast will probably be the other most played Cascade spell, as it Cascades into virtually any Planeswalker, and chaining it into a Bloodbraid Elf just seems righteously unfair. Can you imagine Bituminous Blasting their monster, flipping up Bloodbraid Elf, then flipping over Terminate to kill their other monster? Suddenly their winning position goes from Winning to Losing in a single spell. Cascade is Card Advantage through and through, and should be celebrated as such.
To stop such shenanigans you’re going to need a hard to deal with blocker. And Alara Reborn has just the card for you:
Wall of Denial
1UW
Uncommon
Creature – Illusion Wall
Defender, flying, shroud
0/8
What Plumeveil had in Flash and power, this has in a big butt and the inability to be rid of with Path to Exile, Terminate, Eyeblight’s Ending, Shriekmaw, or the hundreds of other answers. However, Deathtouch is still a problem for this awesome wall, but everything else is completely shutdown. Nice.
How about that new Ophidian?
Vedalken Heretic
UG
Creature – Vedalken Shaman
Whenever ~ deals damage to an opponent, you may draw a card.
1/1
It’s no Cold-Eyed Selkie, but at just two mana, it’s a hell of a deal for an Ophidian. A nice little treat for the Bant players out there.
Speaking of Bant cards, how about Wargate?
Wargate
XUWG
Rare
Sorcery
Search your library for a permanent card with converted mana cost X or less and put it into play. Then shuffle your library.
Just awesome. It’s like Chord of Calling 2.0. While you lose the ability to play it at Instant speed… okay, and Convoke and a much easier casting cost… instead you can go fetch an Enchantment, a Planeswalker, the best land in your deck for just three mana, or whatever creature you need at the time. The longer the game goes on, the better this card gets.
I can’t produce an Alara Reborn spoiler show without giving you one of the best rares in the set, Maelstrom Pulse
Maelstrom Pulse
1BG
Rare
Sorcery
Destroy target nonland permanent and all permanents that share the same name.
In. Freaking. Sanely good. It makes tokens suck – something that really needs to happen and soon – it’s like the Vindicate we always were looking for. Sure, Vindicate was much stronger as a pseudo land destruction spell, but Maelstrom Pulse has the ability to be a simply efficient one-for-one, or if your opponent is still Bitterblossom and Spectral Procession happy, you get an X-for-1 and bash in afterwards. Nothing, not even Planeswalkers, are safe from this thing. Enchantments, Artifacts, you name it. I love this card and I assure you a playset will go very far in your future Magical endeavors.
Speaking of something that needs to happen, how about the death of Five-Color Control? Say hello to…
Anathemancer
1RB
Uncommon
Creature – Zombie Wizard
When Anathemancer comes into play, it deals damage to target player equal to the number of nonbasic lands that player controls.
Unearth 4RB
2/2
YES! Now that is what I want to see. It’s no Ruination, but what is? This card punishes the fact that most decks can count the number of basic lands in their deck on one hand. The best part about this is that even if they manage to counter it the first go around, no Cryptic Command or Remove Soul is going to save them from the Unearth damage they’re going to be dealt. And that’s definitely a good thing. As if Blightning Aggro needed more tools, this does the job of punishing those control players perfectly. And remember, Reveillark fetches this guy back into play for more painful shenanigans. Yeah baby.
Continuing with the beats, I just love the new pump spell called Colossal Might
Colossal Might
RG
Common
Instant
Target creature gets +4/+2 and gains trample until end of turn.
Awesome! Get in there with virtually any R/G beats creature, say, I dunno, Bloodbraid Elf, and when they chump you with a Bitterblossom token you take them down with the best pump spell since Predator’s Strike. There’s a lot to be said for cheap ways of providing trample, and this gives you a huge bonus to boot. My guess is this card will be ending a lot more games than you may think. Just imagine how scary Marisi’s Twinclaws is with a little +4 power bonus and trample. Daaamn. But what you need is something really huge to use it on… something, I don’t know…Mythic?
Lord of Extinction
3BG
Mythic
Creature – Elemental
Lord of Extinction’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in all graveyards.
*/*
I think this is a highly underrated Mythic rare that could potentially be a finisher in all sorts of decks. Not to be throwing out the hyperbole here, just looking for reference, but remember how underrated Tarmogoyf was because you had to “work so hard at filling the graveyard” to make him good? That turned out to be the least of your worries. Just playing Magic fills graveyards with cards. And this guy… he doesn’t count types, he counts everything. That means on Turn 5 he could already be a 10/10. Late game? How about a 25/25 rumbling in the red zone? This guy basically says that ridic/ridic, no matter what those numbers may be, is doable at 3BG. But of course, you need a way for him not to get chump blocked, and by that I say to see Colossal Might, or this powerful preview card:
Behemoth Sledge
1GW
Artifact – Equipment
Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has lifelink and trample.
Equip 3
Now the cost on this is quite high, a total of six mana for what you’re used to paying three mana for in Armadillo Cloak form. But the upside is none too shabby. Even the playabilty of Loxodon Warhammer is limited due to the fact that it only pumps toughness. This is like having an Armadillo Cloak in play for the rest of the game, period, that your opponent must deal with or it will give you latest monster trample. This is powerful on a Wild Nacatl just as it is a Bloodbraid Elf, and, hey, is that a Lord of Extinction over there? Don’t mind if I do!
But what about those oh-so-exciting control mirrors? Forget Mind Shatter, let’s talk about Identity Crisis.
Identity Crisis
2WWBB
Sorcery
Rare
Remove all cards in target player’s hand and graveyard from the game.
Woo, now that is some business right there. Mind Shatter for four? Nah, I’ll just make sure I have two white mana in there and I’ll take your hand, your graveyard, and your dignity, in that order. No Nucklavee shenanigans, no targets for your topdecked Cruel Ultimatum, and no Reveillark BS. This is the card that the control player really wants to resolve, as sometimes Mind Shatter isn’t enough for their whole hand, or recursion will get you later in the game. Instead, this powerful sideboard rockstar is definitely something to keep in mind – and play around – when not planning on winning with Naya beats in the red zone.
Speaking of beats, have you seen the innocent-looking Wisescale Coatl?
Wisescale Coatl
1UG
Uncommon
Creature – Snake
Whenever you draw a card, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Wisescale Coatl.
I know it doesn’t look like much, but have you realized how insane this guy is in Legacy, and possibly even Vintage? Brainstorm just because the best draw spell ever with this guy out. Permanent Giant Growth along with looking at the top three cards and shuffle effects to ensure you get new cards next turn? Meanwhile, every draw step, Wisescale just keeps growing? Man that is delicious. I love somewhat ‘narrow’ creatures that are incredible powerhouses in the right format. And decks that like playing Brainstorm are sure to love this guy.
Winding down, I’d like to talk about Finest Hour:
Finest Hour
2UGW
Rare
Enchantment
Exalted
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone, if it’s the first combat phase of the turn, untap that creature. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
I think this card is fantastic, though it is priced as being a crap rare. Here’s where I think the brilliance is: If your opponent doesn’t kill the singular creature you plan on attacking with before you announce attackers, then you are for sure getting another combat step. This makes the drawback of ‘only’ attacking with one creature not half as bad. Your opponent must now anticipate what you want to bash with and hope to cut you off at the pass. And of course, if you still have dudes around, those are free to swing, alone, and give you another combat step. The combos with Rafiq, Battelgrace Angel, and plain ole’ Noble Hierarch are just impressive. I like it a lot.
Next up is easily the best named card of the set, Double Negative
Double Negative
UUR
Instant
Uncommon
Counter up to two target spells.
Brilliant! I love the name, which I would bet real money came from Mark Rosewater himself, as he loves ‘doubling’ anything, and I love how this will wreck both counter wars and Storm decks in Extended. While Spell Snare is usually the counter-war winner, I can see how this would have applications. It’s also, of course, the perfect foil to Cascade as I’m sure you’ll be seeing plenty of decks that feature that mechanic on tournament tables soon. So kudos to a great name and a great idea.
Man, I hate to stop but we’ve ran out of time. The fun and flexibility of this set is not to be underestimated. From the incredible limited tools such as the Sojourners cycle and the double basic landcyclers, to powerful niche cards like Mind Funeral to the kick ass Borderpost cycle, this is one hell of a set. WotC can pat themselves on the back thoroughly for this one, as I am 100% sold on the awesomeness of Alara Reborn. As I mentioned last week, I’ll be in Los Angeles this weekend for the Alara Reborn prerelease hosted by SunMesa events and suggest you come out, say hello, and gunsling your heart out against me. I’m certainly up for the challenge. If you can’t make it out there, use the link at the top of StarCityGames.com or the search engine at magicthegathering.com to find your nearest location and get your own multicolor goodness going.
Until next time Magic players, this is Evan Erwin. Tapping the cards… so you don’t have to.
Evan “misterorange” Erwin