Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going over Magic 2011 – the hyped, the underhyped, and the just plain awesome. You ready? Let’s go!
This One Goes To M11!
So, last week the spoiler was unfinished, and this week we’ve got all the goodies. Ready to see why? Let’s keep these spoilers a-rolling.
First up is Nantuko Shade. Nantuko Shade is back, baby! This creature absolutely crushed back in the day, and here it is again to do some serious damage with a mono-or-almost-mono Black deck. I guess it’s a sign of the times that this creature isn’t nearly as impressive as he used to be, as creatures have slowly gotten more and more powerful as time has gone on, but rest assured this will be a powerful and game-ending option for many decks.
Next up is the mind-blowing Mass Polymorph. And the best part? It literally is Mass Polymorph! Remember that problem you used to have being forced to target the creature you’re Polymorphing? No more! What’s better than one Emrakul? An Emrakul, an Avenger of Zendikar, and other random assorted fatties. You’ve got your Khalni Gardens and Awakening Zones to get your started, now trade those tokens for fatties! Also, how amazing is that art? I see Hurloon Minotaur; Pestermite; Crush of Wurms; Isamaru, Hound of Konda; Goblin Lackey; and Bringer of the Red Dawn! Fantastic.
Moving on, I’d like to note I love the Day of Judgment printing for this set. Three words, centered, no flavor, all badass. Stuff Dies. The End. Love it.
Other White cards include the much-hyped Knight Exemplar. While two of these are certainly powerful and exciting, in a world full of Path to Exiles, Oblivion Rings, and All Is Dust these guys aren’t nearly as good as I think they would’ve been a few years ago. That said, they do make cards like Student of Warfare look a lot better and with White Knight in the set there’s plenty of Knights to play with this guy, but his tournament viability isn’t there for me.
As for White cards I’m 100% positive are bonkers, check out Leyline of Sanctity. Hey, it’s time for the “Let’s Be R&D Game!” Okay, I’ll start. How about that Ivory Mask? That card isn’t good enough, right? How about we make it free if it’s in your opener? Screw the need to accelerate it out there. Hmm. No, no, that isn’t good enough. If you just copied the Ivory Mask effect you wouldn’t be able to target yourself with cards like Jace Beleren or Sign in Blood. Nah, let’s make it Troll Shroud! Yeah, that’s the ticket. This way it is completely sick in Vintage where Tendrils is a real, scary thing that can and does kill sometime on Turn 1, and in Legacy where discard-based decks destroy things like Stax. This card impacts Extended as well, with cards like Mistbind Clique, Thoughtseize, Gifts Ungiven and others suddenly shut off – for free – before the game even starts! In Standard this basically just screws with the Red deck something awful. Talk about your awkward situations. I can just see a control player at three or less life with this in play while their opponent looks helplessly at the Lightning Bolts, Searing Blazes, and Burst Lightnings stuck in their hand. Nice. Burn spells.
But hey, how about that Serra Ascendant? This creature seems almost designed solely for EDH play, as you begin at 30 life in that format, and having a 6/6 Lifelinker on Turn 1 seems good, right? Have fun with this one, you crazy EDHers. I love how R&D can now support awesome casual formats instead of giving us bunk rares like, I dunno, Kjeldoran Royal Guard. Ahem.
My vote for funniest art in the set goes to Redirect. So awesome! This cracks me up every time, and luckily it’s a killer card in general. The lesson from this card? When your spells start chasing you… run.
Stormtide Leviathan really gets my juices flowing. There are literally only five cards with this mana cost in Magic, and none of them are as powerful save the Vintage-playable fatty Tidespout Tyrant. But Tidespout Tyrant isn’t a walking Island Sanctuary, particularly one that is unblockable like the 9th Edition Mercadian Masques reprint Tidal Kraken. Only Lorthos, the Tidemaker can compare to its raw stats, and that was a card that came out just last year. Simply put, this card’s power level is very high compared to past big Blue monsters, and it finally feels like you get your ‘eight mana’s worth.’ Being able to stop ground attacks by merely existing on the battlefield, this guy has my senses tingling for possible constructed use. But I doubt it.
So how’s about a new Constructed monster? Dark Tutelage, apart from having a fun name to say over and over – Tutelage, tutelage, tutelage – is the real deal. It’s what would best be described as the new Phyrexian Arena mixed with one of the best creatures ever printed, Dark Confidant. Now Confidant, as we know, is a powerhouse in all senses, so why wouldn’t an enchantment be the same way? A few reasons: First, Enchantments are much more difficult to get rid of than a creature. With creatures you can block, sacrifice it to an effect, or kill it with your own removal spells. Dark Tutelage, on the other hand, requires you to either have an answer to it in your deck or try to stack your deck to take advantage of it, which is what I feel is going to happen. In a mono Black deck, Crystal Ball suddenly becomes your best friend, and of course this is Yet Another Card That Is Awesome With Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Shocker, right? Either way, I love this design and I personally can’t wait to try it out. Sick card draw in Black is back!
While we’re going over Black, Viscera Seer is another card I think is way, way better than it looks. Apart from being ridiculous in the mind-bending Body Double / Reveillark combo in Extended, it’s also just a solid creature to use with Spawn token generators like Kozilek’s Predator and Awakening Zone. The ability to stack your draws is No Joke, and this guy gives you just that with only a little effort. Definitely a card to watch.
Looking at Red, how’s about that Red Terror, er, I mean, Combust? This card might as well say “Destroy target Baneslayer Angel,” but hey, sometimes that’s what’s necessary. Right now Red doesn’t have a great answer to the flying game-ender apart from temporarily stealing her with Act of Treason or using burn spells to finish her off, and I assure you this will live in Red Deck Wins sideboards for the next 15 months.
But how’s about a sleeper card? Check out Cyclops Gladiator. This card I think is much, much better than those who dismissed it are giving it credit for. I think the most important aspect of this card is that it does its Arena-esque shenanigans after declaring attackers, before anything can block. This means that a Giant Growth or other similar effect is enough to kill an opposing Titan, Baneslayer Angel or similar fatty. His base stats are certainly formidable, and I think it’s important to note he can kill Wall of Omens and clear that way for his beats to arrive soon after. If there’s a “Big Red’ strategy to be had, I feel this guy will definitely be a part of it.
Speaking of Big Red, you seen Destructive Force? Wildfire is back, now bigger, better, and a hell of a lot scarier. Can you say “Kills Baneslayer Angel”…? I knew ya could! Just imagine resolving this spell while a Primeval Titan is on the board. Hell yeah! Wildfire saw a lot of play back in Kamigawa Standard, as resolving Wildfire with Keiga, the Tide Star on the battlefield was often game over. This time the fatty has to be a little bit bigger, but hey, it’s not like they didn’t give us a whole incredible Mythic cycle of em to use with this card. Rest assured, this card will be on the radar of many a deckbuilder, and if it’s good enough will be in your metagame for some time.
Ember Hauler is next, and I totally love this guy. Guaranteed to make an impact in your Red Deck Wins lists, this guy only needs to connect once to deal 4 damage for two mana, and each subsequent hit makes him that much more dangerous. The card that comes to mind for me is Keldon Marauders, a card that could potentially deal five damage for two mana, while this guy is a walking shock that can not only deal six or more damage, but can kill pesky Lotus Cobras, Noble Hierarchs, and others.
Another Red card I’m crazy excited for is Fling. Can you say Unearth creatures? I knew ya could! Getting an additional four damage from Hell’s Thunder is pretty damn sexy, but how’s about having five mana available while looking at Ball Lightning and Fling? Twelve damage, thanks for playing. This is a card with a lot of potential, and one that isn’t to be underestimated in a world of Polymorph or, now, Mass Polymorph.
Lastly for Red, I want to note I love Manic Vandal. Finally we have the red Viridian Shaman! Sweet. This guy will be sick and see lots of play once Scars of Mirrodin shows up.
As for Green, Autumn’s Veil is ridiculous, and here’s why. The key to this card is twofold: The first part is that you can ‘go fishing’ to see if your counterspell-wielding opponent wants to endure whatever you’re about to unleash. Second, you can do it in response to a counterspell and counter that spell! So you play your Primeval Titan, they Mana Leak, you Autumn’s Veil in response, suddenly the Primeval Titan is no longer counterable. That’s an important aspect to be aware of. It also counters Maelstrom Pulse, Terminate, Doom Blade or any other Black-based removal spells. An incredible tool for Green decks in the future, give this thing a whirl.
Wrapping this up, I’ll happily mention that I’m head over heels in love with Sword of Vengeance. Holy crap, is that Akroma’s Freakin’ Sword?! Hell yes it is! Now any ol’ dork you have hanging out on the battlefield can know what it feels like to fight for truth and justice while slicing and dicing opponents with ease. Sweet! I love this equipment, and hope it makes as big an impact as I’m expecting. Stoneforge Mystic, I heart thee.
Man… all these spoilers and I still didn’t get to talk about the awesomeness of reprinting Voltaic Key and Jinxed Idol, the incredibly cool Brittle Effigy and how it might sneak into decks with Trinket Mage, the controversy of Hornet Sting’s presence and its flavor in Green, the new cleaner Fork via Reverberate… there is so much going on!
All I can say is, Magic 2011 is amazing and is, no question, the best Core Set since Revised. Yeah, I said it. Go ahead and comb through every core set ever made since Revised and see if you can find the same high quality of cards, consistency of power level, or cohesiveness of themes. Wizards are only getting better at this core set business, and you and I as players are reaping the benefits.
Be sure to get your singles from StarCityGames.com and join myself and Patrick Chapin live and in person this weekend at the Richmond M11 Prerelease. Until next time, Magic players, this is Evan Erwin. Tapping the cards… so you don’t have to.
Evan “misterorange” Erwin
Community Manager, StarCityGames.com