Instead of doing the good ol' full (or almost full) set review like I usually do, this time I decided to do something different. The thing with set reviews is that they're both long and short, but not in the right places. Words ammount to 10k or so, but divided by 145 cards that's not a lot of commentaty about each one. Specially the ones that do matter. So, instead of analyzing the 103 cards we have so far I'm gonna focus on the ones I believe are the ten best ones, offering a complete view with pros/cons and some deck ideas, while I'm at it.
Before I begin, here's a few things that will help everyone enjoy this thread a lot better:
- The focus of this analysis is Standard. I'll maybe throw in a comment or two about other formats such as Block and Extended, but my focus is definitely the Standard format.
- I've assigned positions to these 10 cards according to the impact I believe they're going to have. This is just my opinion, and arguing about ranks and whether or not card X should go down a position or two or go up a position or two is basically pointless. If you believe the card in question is top 10 material, it shouldn't really matter if it's card #10 or card #1 in the list.
- Ten is a somewhat low number. The spoiler isn't complete and I can think of at least 5 cards I'd like to put in this top ten, but didn't. What I'm trying to say is that there's surely many more good cards among the 103 spoiled so far besides these ten I chose to comment, and they should obviously be taken into consideration too. Not to mention that some of them will probably be brought up as I discuss the ten cards I chose.
- Open your mind and try not to think of existing archetypes vs non-existing archetypes. There are cards in this list that don't yet have a home, or an obvious home, but that doesn't mean that a new deck can't/won't emerge because (or in spite of) the card. Likewise, I won't consider an advantage if a new card ''already has a home''. I'm trying to analyze the cards here both in a vacuum and in the context that puts the card at its fullest. Whether or not that context will be viable or even exist once the metagame stabilizes can't be foreseen right now.
- Please share your thoughts, all of them, but be constructive whenever possible. If you disagree with something I said, if you saw something I overlooked, etc, please chime in with your own view. Healthy discussion is what makes the true gems of a new set appear, not a single mind looking at the spoiler. That's why some ''mistakes'' end up seeing print, and some even get banned: millions of players thinking, testing and playing 24/7 do a much better job of wearing down all the possibilities of a card than 6-12 R&D members in an office for a few months.
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All right, let's begin.
#10 - Maelstrom Pulse
We kick things off to one of the hottest cards of the new set, a card that most of you probably thought would be in a higher position here. Well, right off the bat, before I talk about its qualities, here's a few things this card is not:
- It's definitely not Vindicate. Hitting lands is terrific.
- It's not always better than Putrefy. In fact, most of the time, it's worse. Remember that Putrefy deceptively hits 'lands': Artifact lands, signets, borderposts etc.
- The echoing effect is bad in mirror matches. Really bad.
- The echoing effect is useless vs planeswalkers (not that killing a single one isn't worth it, just that it's the only option).
- Sorcery speed, in the current Standard, is a huge letdown for a removal spell.
- It's basically Oblivion Ring, but better about 70% of the time, and worse about 30% of the time. When you consider that O-Ring is a monocolored common, you realize that Maelstrom Pulse is at least a little bit worse than it looked at first.
- The one obvious home for this card, BG Elves, runs removal that fits at least one of the following criteria: 1) It's an Instant and 2) It's an Elf. Maelstrom Pulse is neither.
For all of these reasons, MP occupies the tenth slot of my list. Maelstrom Pulse, as good as it is, is reminiscent of Unmake. Remember Unmake? How awesome it is, etc? Well, Unmake sees zero play, and there's a very strong BW deck around. The problem is that Terror and Path to Exile are just better - a lot better - and Maelstrom Pulse has similar competition. Granted, it kills three other card types: artifacts, enchantments and planeswalkers, but it's not the most efficient way to take care of any of those. What are the artifacts and enchantments that are played in this format?
Tidehollow Sculler
Loxodon Warhammer (usually 1-2 copies in a few select decks)
Bitterblossom
Glorious Anthem
Runed Halo, which appears occasionally
Oblivion Ring
Fertile Ground, very rarely
and maybe some Borderposts, which probably won't see enough play until Lor/Shm rotates away
Maelstrom Pulse isn't cheaper than any of them. The #1 pro of a removal spell is being cheaper than whatever it's preying on. Or, of course, hitting more than one thing at once, which in the end is basically the same thing. Maelstrom Pulse is obviously awesome when it hits 2x Anthems or *gasp* 2x Oblivion Rings, but what about Bitterblossom? If my opponent has two blossoms out, do I really want to destroy them? First of all, since MP is a 3-mana sorcery, it opens me up to an epic fail vs a Scion of Oona. Second of all, isn't it better to just maintain the blossoms with stuff like Volcanic Fallout or Cloudthresher, and let them worry about being Shocked once per upkeep?
The artifacts aren't too promising either. Tidehollow Sculler is a fine target, but the 2/2 mechanical zombie can simply rip the Pulse itself (and that's what it usually does, rip a removal spell). Loxodon Warhammer is a fine target too, but it costs the same as the Pulse, so at best you get parity. Borderposts are obviously excellent Pulse targets, but like I said I don't think they'll see heavy Standard play right now. They're good, but not really needed right now. Maybe when the excellent vivid/pool/filterlands fixing rotates.
Now, don't get me wrong. Maelstrom Pulse is obviously a strong card, because of its versatility. It's not the best way to deal with a creature. Or with an artifact. Same for enchantments and planeswalkers. But it offers, in a single slot, a solution to all of those, and that's definitely good enough. The fact that it's gold is almost meaningless in this colorful world, but the fact that it costs 3 and is a sorcery can't be overlooked. Creatures are excellent these days: they cost next to nothing and/or come in multiples. Even the token decks, which MP is supposedly very good against, run sometimes four different kinds of tokens, so you aren't even guaranteed to wipe the board clean of them.
St@r's Verdict: Maelstrom Pulse is going to be a staple SB card. It's good against decks that run full playsets of expensive permanents, which sadly isn't very common in this metagame (plus it takes splash damage from a card you'll see down the list). A few relevant threats happen to have pro-Black to boot, like Chameleon Colossus and Stillmoon Cavalier. Expect to see this against decks that can cast it, but don't expect 4x maindeck pulses in any deck that can tap for both B and G. It's just not that good of a card.
Moving on, we have one interesting piece in...
#9 - Thought Hemorrage
Ah, Cranial Extraction. I missed you not, and now I'll have to play with you
Thought Hemorrage isn't a "harder to cast" Cranial. It's a Cranial that sometimes will Bolt the dome once or twice, and that's quite an upside over the previous version. That single R mana in the cost is negligible in today's Standard, and the ability to get rid of all the Reveillarks, Cloudgoat Rangers or Ajani Vengeants of an opposing deck is not to be underestimated. We're back to the world of "1-3 ofs", in order not to be completely overwhelmed by Thought Hemorrage. Ok, maybe it's not that extreme, but a few really important slots in every deck will have to be diversified a bit so that this card (or another one I'll get to in a minute) doesn't wreck your day.
Control decks particularly will have to spread its finishers out a little. Running 3x Broodmates or 3x Ajanis isn't wise anymore. Instead, it's best to run stuff like 1x Cloudthresher, 2x Broodmates, 2x Ajanis and 1x Liliana Vess, for example. The sole existance of a card like Thought Hemorrage is healthy for any given format, because it forces variety and makes more cards playable. Cards that were "just like card X, only slightly worse" will now be played alongside that card, since they're similar and the variety gives a little TH protection. Chameleon Colossus won't have to compete with Wilt-Leaf Liege in Elves anymore, as the deck will rather play a 2/2 or 3/1 split rather than run a full playset only to lose it to Thought Hemorrage. There's another little gem in Alara Reborn that punishes players running full playsets of spells, and these two cards combined will change the way people build their decks.
St@r's Verdict: Thought Hemorrage, alongside all the good BR stuff in Alara Reborn will quite possibly revive the Machine Head archetype of the old Invasion days, and quite possibly make a "new" archetype appear, Jund Rock. There's a lot going on for this shard right now, and I expect a Jund-based deck of some sort to rise to Tier 1 status with the debut of Alara Reborn.
Coming up next there's a creature that I'm sure will shake the format up...
This is a three drop I can get behind. Dauntless Escort isn't trying to do anything fancy. It has no combat abilities. It's smaller than what GW usually gets for three mana, stuff like Anurid Brushopper and Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers. It doesn't even have a good creature type. But it has a very special and unique ability that has a LOT of value: It protects your team vs mass removal of all sorts except Infest/Mutilate variants. The most important and obvious one: Wrath of God. Dauntless Escort revolutionizes the format by making this possible:
Creature decks can now play Wrath of God themselves.
I can't stress enough how important that is. Right now the format is basically Mono Red/Blightning, Faeries, Cruel Control, and the myriad of Spectral Procession decks, of many flavors. Those Spectral Procession decks don't usually run Green, but Dauntless Escort is a very strong incentive to do so. Wrath of God is going to be wicked good in mirror matches of Spectral Procession decks if you're able to wipe the other side of the board clean while losing your Escort and nothing else. Green has just laid one big Ace on the table, and your Green or White aggro deck will need a big reason not to splash the second color to run Dauntless Escort.
On the fragility side, the Escort is obviously very fragile itself, but with an excellent sac ability that vulnerability isn't a problem. Basically if they go for the Escort they aren't going for anything else that turn. Blocking mecomes miserable. Stuff like Volcanic Fallout and Jund Charm can't be cast with an Escort in play or they'll be rendered useless. The player has to target the Escort with another removal spell first and then sweep in response to the sac ability. That takes at least 4 mana if the removal spell is Path, and obviously the right colors of mana to do so. It's just very complicated math for the defending player.
I know that a 3/3 for 3 is barely exciting - Trained Armodon anyone? - but the ability is so unique, so relevant, so good, that the package becomes quite significant. Hell I won't be surprised if Bant/Dark Bant decks start running Dauntless Escort before they even try stuff like Jenara out. In a hostile world like today's Standard, if a creature's gonna have a big target in its head, it should at least take something down with it.
Oh and did I mention how excellent this is in Extended, where a timely Chord of Calling can save a whole team? Dauntless Escort, 1-of in Elves? I think so.
St@r's Verdict: Sometimes less is better. Standard is a big format and it will grow even bigger before it rotates again: both Alara Reborn and Magic 2010 are coming without pushing anything out of the format. Unique abilities like Dauntless Escort's rise tremendously in value in such environments, because random soldiers to beat down with are everywhere, but ones that let you play Wrath of God in aggro decks are one-of-a-kind. The lack of other abilities should not drive players away from this card, which I'm sure will be underestimated a lot before it's truly appreciated.
Next is another gem from the Selesnya Conclave...
#7 - Qasali Pridemage
Comparisons to Watchwolf are a bit unfair to the excellent 3/3 from Ravnica (consistency is key), but aren't too far from the truth, I must say. In the first turns of the game Qasali Pridemage really is akin to Watchwolf, but it does eat a nice and timely Volcanic Fallout. No worries, since it's just a two-drop.
Wait, not 'just' a two-drop. This also has a built-in Naturalize ability, which is pretty awesome in a creature that's already playable by its cost and size. Stuff like Tidehollow Sculler, Bitterblossom and Glorious Anthem is very common in today's Standard, and your opponents running these will have to think twice before killing your Pridemage, at the risk of being two-for-one'd by the Naturalize effect.
Qasali Pridemage combos very well with Noble Hierarch, to boot, swinging as a 4/4 very early in the game. I'm not sure if a dedicated GW exalted deck will come to be, but does one need to really? Exalted is obviously better in multiples but it's good enough in 1-3 different creatures in an aggro deck. Qasali Pridemage, alongside Noble Hierarch and a few others, is good besides having Exalted, not because of it. I'm sure it will be heavily played in decks with access to both Green and White mana, because it's a good enough addition to an aggressive force and a very harmless way to add Naturalize to your deck. It's yet another card that fights Bitterblossom, and that can't be overlooked.
St@r's Verdict: Power creep, anyone? It's been a while since a common were this good. This is reminiscent of stuff like Yavimaya Elder and Sakura-Tribe Elder. It's certainly less of a staple and fits in less decks, but it's a Green creature that has a lot going for its low mana cost, just like these elders from the past. Bant is looking a lot stronger with the new gems from Alara Reborn, and I'm certain it will rise to Tier 1 status once Lrw/Shm rotates. Barring linear brokeness in Zendikar, of course.
Going up two steps in rarity, we find one of the best finishers in the whole Alara block. Meet...
Remember Angel of Despair? Let that sink in for a minute. Yes, there are quite a few differences between these seven-drops, namely:
- Angel of Despair has a CIP ability, which means it's reanimation-friendly. The Sphinx, not so much.
- Enigma Sphinx is an Artifact, and with that comes a lot of extra vulnerability (but also a lot of extra applications, like being accelerated by Etherium Sculptor and Master Transmuter).
- Enigma Sphinx is a full color 'harder' to cast, which isn't that big of a deal but sure is going to be relevant at one point.
- That extra toughness in AoD is quite relevant in a format with both Flame Javelin and Plumeveil. *E. Sphinx frowns*
- Enigma Sphinx and its effect are split in two spells, which makes it a far better card against permission, specially Broken Ambitions (which usually has no problem dealing with a seven drop for just a few mana). While Angel of Despair is easily answered by a timely Blue instant, Enigma Sphinx is both a 5/4 flier and ''whatever it cascades into'', and it's up to your opponent which one he will have to deal with in a different way.
People are all over creatures like Karrthus and Thraximundar, finishers that will simply be Pathed or Terminated into oblivion, to say the least. There's also permission, Wrath, etc. What this means to all of us is that 5+ drops have to be justified, period. Stuff like Cloudgoat Ranger, Siege-Gang Commander, Reveillark, Broodmate Dragon, all have advantages against at least some of the format's answers. Specially the one-for-ones Terror, Path and the old kid that just moved to the block, Terminate. Enigma Sphinx shares some of these advantages, thanks to Cascade. In a deck with solid cards such as Cryptic Command, Wrath of God, Mulldrifter, and Esper Charm, Enigma Sphinx can read:
"When Enigma Sphinx is played, destroy all creatures. They can't be regenerated"
Say hello to a new, improved Desolation Giant.
"When Enigma Sphinx is played, put a 2/2 flying fish into play and draw two cards"
Sort of a different take on Broodmate Dragon: You get two fliers as well, with weird bodies, but you get a free Inspiration to boot.
"When Enigma Sphinx is played, choose two: Draw a card, bounce target permanent, or tap target player's creatures"
At Sorcery-speed, the 4th mode from Cryptic is not going to be very useful, but cantrip + bounce + a 5/4 flier is a sweet deal for seven mana, I must say.
"When Enigma Sphinx comes into play, choose one: Inspiration, Mind Rot, or Demistify"
All very good, obviously.
And there's even more possibilities, really. If you run Shriekmaw in your deck instead of Terrors, you can get a free 3/2 fear creature + Terror with Cascade. Certainly good enough. It's just a matter of sculpting your deck so that it has more cards that are good to Cascade into rather than cards you don't really want to Cascade into, such as Broken Ambitions. And that is certainly doable. I think Enigma Sphinx will play a very strong role in Block Constructed, where it will shine in Esper Control, and it may also "revive" the Solar Flare archetype in Standard. Granted, we don't have signets or bouncelands and the Sphinx isn't too hot with Mannequin since Cascade isn't a CIP ability, but the spirit of the archetype can easily be revived. I can't wait to Cascade into Mulldrifters, Shriekmaws and Reveillarks.
St@r's Verdict: Think of it like Esper's take on Broodmate Dragon. Like I said, finishers have to be justified in today's Standard, because 5+ mana is a heavy commitment of both mana and tempo to be lost to a cheap spell like Path to Exile, Terminate or Broken Ambitions. As interesting as Karrthus, Thraximundar and Sphinx of the Steel Wind look, they are all easy prey to a handful of answers that are commonly played, and thus aren't really worth looking into. Enigma Sphinx is always going to be at least a two-for-one (except against Double Negative), giving you at least some value for the invested mana. In five-color control it competes with Cloudthresher and Cruel Ultimatum and doesn't really fit into the deck's plan, but if something like Esper Control emerges, I'm sure it will run some number of Enigma Sphinxes.
We keep the keyword and one of the Sphinx's colors and go down one step in rarity to find...
#5 - Bituminous Blast
Say hello to Prophetic Bolt. The first time we got an excellent multicolored third set it was Apocalypse, and in it we had a nice Izzet gem that is basically Flame Javelin + Impulse for five mana. Bituminous Blast takes away the doming half of Flame Javelin but takes Impulse to the next level: You get to play the card rather than just draw it, and it will always be a spell, not a land. The only problem is that you don't get to choose it, but you can certainly shape your deck so that it has only decent to excellent options to Cascade into with BBlast.
At five mana, Bituminous Blast has just the right cost to cascade into Thought Hemorrage, Ajani Vengeant, Elspeth, and other bombs. Can you imagine killing a x/4 creature at eot and flipping a Planeswalker right into play? Or maybe a Volcanic Fallout and basically wiping the board clean for five mana at instant speed? Or Thought Hemorrage, which returns the doming half of Flame Javelin to the card and also Extracts your opponent's deck out of Reveillarks/Cryptic Commands/Cloudgoat Ranger/etc.
If you flip Thought Hemorrage with BBlast and extract a card that your opponent was holding, you just killed a x/4 creature, Incinerated your opponent, and extracted his deck. All for five mana. Hemorrage itself costs 4, the Incinerate to the dome would cost an extra two mana, and 4 to a creature is usually three mana. These effects combined would add up to ~9 mana total split between three cards, but you can get all that for five mana and a single Bituminous Blast. And that's just one possible scenario, although admittedly one of the best ones. Even if you flip cheaper, ''more fair'' spells like Terminate and Incinerate, you kill two creatures, at instant speed, for five mana. Quite a sweet deal. Or the outcome can go totally insane if you flip a Bloodbraid Elf... heaven forbid.
St@r's Verdict: Alara Reborn has been *very* kind to BR, offering four excellent cards to the archetype, three of which I've already mentioned up to here. I don't think aggro will be the chosen route for the archetype any longer, at least not in the way Blightning decks have been playing these days. I think a Machine Head of sorts will be the next big thing, with or without an extra color. Bituminous Blast is, most of the time, better than Prophetic Bolt, which is an excellent card to begin with. Cascade is a very scary mechanic, and stapled into an instant-speed removal spell it's just nuts. Expect to see Bituminous Blast in Standard as soon as Alara Reborn hits the market, and expect it to help define the Block Constructed metagame. This card really is that good.
Here's another card that will definitely see play in quite a few BR decks...
#4 - Jund Hackblade (and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the cycle)
As if Watchwolf, Scab-Clan Mauler, Wren's Run Vanquisher, and the exalted guys weren't enough, we get another five potential 3/x creatures for two mana in this excellent cycle of commons. They are all quite good, as the abilities gained are all desirable, but Jund Hackblade deserves special mention. Haste is just savage in a 3/x creature for two mana, specially one that doesn't die at EOT like Hellspark Elemental. Let's think about the possibilities for a second.
Tattermunge Maniac and Figure of Destiny are two multicolored one-drops that are quite playable (Figure is quite excellent actually), and that will help enable a turn 2 fully powered Jund Hackblade. Those two aside, we have Boggart Ram-Gang, Murderous Redcap and Bloodbraid Elf higher in the curve, all excellent multicolored creatures to power Jund Hackblade. Cascading into the Hackblade with Bloodbraid Elf gives us two 3/2 hasty guys for just four mana. That reminds me of Skizzik. That looks like a mini Broodmate Dragon that swings for 6 right away. That's awesome.
Anyway, going back to the Hackblade, it really shouldn't be hard to abuse it in an aggro deck, and I see a Zoo deck of sorts rising with Alara Reborn. Whether that deck will be RGW, BRG or just RG or BR if yet to be found out about, after a significant ammount of testing. I know I want to put 4x Bloodbraid Elf and 4x Bituminous Blast in a deck and go from there, so I'm definitely going to explore Jund first. There's a ton of amazing haste creatures for us to choose, and a lot of multicolored permanents that are playable on their own and that should help power Jund Hackblade and the other blades up. Of all the excellent commons in Reborn, this cycle is one I'm sure I'll try to break.
Just a quick comment about Block Constructed. In Block we only have the borderposts as turn 1 multicolored permanents to power the blades, and I think all borderposts will see play for that reason alone. A 3/2 + ability for two mana is an excellent way to start the game, and this cycle is sure to considerably speed Alara Block Constructed up. That and all the haste in the block, which is quite ridiculous I must say. Imagine this:
Untested decklist, just to illustrate. There we have 24 mana sources, eight of them that power a turn two 3/2 Hackblade. Cascading into a Borderpost isn't too much of a bummer in a deck with 4x Broodmates and 4x Resounding Thunders, since at least we're accelerating into these spells. 16 creatures have haste or potentially have haste, and 8 of them can be unearthed back into play. Rounding up we have Blightning for a little planeswalker control, and Terminate + Bituminous Blast to get problems out of the way. I'm really excited to try this thing out.
St@r's Verdict: This cycle is absolutely excellent. Notable other members of the cycle are Grixis Grimblade, which reminds me of Wren's Run Vanquisher, and Naya Hushblade, which reminds me of Nimble Mongoose. The other two are also quite playable, but don't excite me as much. Either way, expect to see all of them in Block, and most of them in Standard. Ancient Ziggurat just became a lot better.
I want to throw a few extra comments about a card I've mentioned many times already. Say hello again to...
#3 - Terminate
Sit down and relax, because Standard was just reborn. Well, maybe not because of Terminate alone, but this little instant sets the bar up quite a few positions. Patrick Chapin mentioned in his article this week how every creature in Standard is gonna have to pass the ''Terminate test'', and he's entirely correct. In Chapin's words, the Terminate test is:
"If you have a creature and your opponent has Terminate, who gets better value?"
What this means is that any creature that costs three or more mana and trades 1 for 1 with Terminate fails the Terminate test. A few names to illustrate this are Rhox War Monk, Woolly Thoctar, Rafiq of the Many, Spellbreaker Behemoth, even Doran itself *gasp*. Unlike Path to Exile, which at least concedes a free basic land to the poor soul who just lost a beater, Terminate is merciless. For two mana at instant speed, it kills anything that doesn't have protection or shroud, and that is certainly going to shake things up in Standard. Suddenly, creatures that cost 3+ have to be justified just like the more expensive ones, and the ones with CIP abilities/Persist/Cascade become a lot better, as well as Terminate-immune beaters such as Stillmoon Cavalier and Troll Ascetic.
Terminate has only one thing going against it, which is the colors that it requires. Five-color control will happily play it over Terror and maybe even Path to Exile, and obviously BR decks will run nothing less than 4 Terminates among their 75 cards, but what else? Is Jund Ramp viable? Or maybe ''Jund Rock'', as I've heard a few people mention? Possibly, yeah. What's important to have in mind is that the current Standard is very hostile to anything with power and toughness, and that we'll have to search very hard for the true fighters among all the possible soldiers.
St@r's Verdict: Format-defining spell, just like Path to Exile and Volcanic Fallout in Conflux. Block Constructed just became a lot faster and less forgiving to poor souls like Battlegrace Angel, which have been flying happily until now.
We've come all the way to position #2, which is another old friend coming back to play...
I'll just come out and say it: The people who have been saying "meh" about Meddling Mage's return are wrong. Yes, a 2/2 for two is worse today than it was back then, but the ability is just as strong and relevant, and enough to push "just a 2/2 for two" over the top. That's exactly what Tidehollow Sculler is, and it sees play inall decks that can cast it except 5CC. Meddling Mage has a lot of things going for him in this new context, but at least three deserve special mention:
- He's Reveillark-friendly.
- He gets +2/+2 from a timely Thistledown Liege.
- He gives UW Fish decks a way around Volcanic Fallout.
I can't stress enough how relevant these are. Alongside Tidehollow Sculler, Glen Elendra Archmage and Sower of Temptation, and combined with Reveillark recursion, Meddling Mage will be the cause of many headaches in Standard tables starting this May. Let's just say that a turn 2 Sculler/Mage followed by another Sculler/Mage on turn 3 can win the game right there and then. And if your opponent somehow finds a way to kill them considering that Sculler just ate a spot removal and MMage locked the mass removal spell out of the game, Reveillark brings both of them back to eat more spells. Then you lay a Glen Elendra Archmage and untap with Cryptic Command mana up... and it's game over.
Moving to beatdown, Thistledown Liege just got a new best friend. Deft Duelist wasn't good enough to make a foundation, and Vedalken Outlander wasn't enough as well, but with Meddling Mage in the mix a Boat Brew-style UW aggro control deck deck is definitely possible and viable. Consider this:
4x Meddling Mage
4x Deft Duelist
3x Knight of the White Orchid
2x Stillmoon Cavalier
2x Glen Elendra Archmage
3x Sower of Temptation
3x Reveillark
4x Thistledown Liege
4x Path to Exile
4x Spectral Procession
3x Ajani Goldmane
4x Mystic Gate
4x Adarkar Wastes
4x Windbrisk Heights
4x Reflecting Pool
4x Seaside Citadel
3x Plains
1x Island
Obviously there are more options absent and the numbers can be tweaked, but the main idea is clear: Meddling Mage, Sower of Temptation, Glen Elendra Archmage and Thistledown Liege over Boat Brew's Figure of Destiny, Murderous Redcap, Balefire Liege and Siege-Gang Commander. Ajani switches back to his monowhite stance, Mind Stone becomes Knight of the White Orchid (excellent with Thistledown Liege), and voilá. Meddling Mage naming Volcanic Fallout is extremely beneficial to this sort of deck, protecting your bears and Spectral Procession tokens from being decimated at instant speed. Reveillark topping the curve does a good job of bringing back whatever gets killed in the process, but the sheer ammount of attrition and card advantage in a deck like this can't be overlooked. Suddenly Black and Red aren't the only flavors you can add to a White base of Ajani/Heights/Procession, Green and now Blue bring many new toys to the table, very strong incentives to switch over from White's enemies to its allies.
Finally, there's UW Fish/Merfolk. That deck basicaly has to run Burrenton Forge-Tender to be viable, and probably in the maindeck, all because of Volcanic Fallout. Cursecatcher used to do a nice job of stopping mass removal or at least delaying it for a turn or two so that the UW mage could untap with Sage's Dousing/Cryptic mana up, but the uncounterable Fallout put a dent in that plan. With Meddling Mage the whole archetype is revitalized, since while you still can't counter Volcanic Fallout you sure can deny it with MM and counter whatever is thrown at Meddling Mage's face, if anything. He's not a Merfolk, of course, but with the quality of White and Blue drops right now we don't even have to run a tribal creature base. We can simply use Meddling Mage, some first strikers such as Meadowgrain, White Orchid and Duelist, and then Spectral Procession/Thistledown Liege/Cloudgoat Ranger, making some sort of a UW "White Weenie" deck.
St@r's Verdict: Meddling Mage opens the format up to a lot of new possibilities. Together with Thought Hemorrage, it might force players to run a combination of, say, Firespout/Pyroclasm/Volcanic Fallout in the "Pyroclasm slot" rather than simply run a full set of the best variant, so that MM/TH don't single-handedly stop a full slot. These two cards will change the way some or most decks are built, just like Path to Exile basically "forced" everyone to run 1-3 basics. Meddling Mage is a format-defining card, and it will do just that to Standard: redefine it.
And finally we come to the one Alara Reborn card that I foresee will most impact the format. Meet the newest member of the "best creature in Standard club"...
#1 - Bloodbraid Elf
Bloodbraid Elf is insane. Ridiculously insane. It's akin to Flametongue Kavu, Skizzik, Ranger of Eos, Broodmate Dragon... plus it untaps Gilt-Leaf Palace and enables Wren's Run Vanquisher? That's just crazy.
I'm sure most of you shouted "no way!" when I compared it to Flametongue Kavu, but think about it. If it flips Incinerate/Puncture Blast/Resounding Thunder or something in those lines, isn't it basically a hasty FTK with 1 less power and 1 less firepower, but that can go to the dome? Isn't Bloodbraid Elf basically Steamcore Weird (which was very playable) on steroids? What if you flip something like Boggart Ram-Gang or Hell's Thunder with it? You are swinging for 6-7 damage split between two spells (and two bodies), and at least the 3/2 half of this "combo" doesn't die at end of turn. Hell's Thunder/Hellspark Elemental are excellent cards to Cascade into with this, as thanks to unearth they bring a lot of damage to the table for a low mana cost.
Bloodbraid Elf puts up a serious fight with every 4-drop in the format. Cards like Spellbreaker Behemoth, which are basically single monsters for the same cost as the Elf, not only fail the "Terminate test" but also flat-out lose in a fight with Bloodbraid Elf for overall competitiveness in Standard. They are fighting with a creature that's two spells in one, that will more often than not swing for more damage in both the short and long runs, and that's way more resilient to the answers your opponent's might have. If a deck is carefully shaped so that the 1-3 drops are all "Shock or better", Bloodbraid Elf is guaranteed to be very, very good. At worst it's a slightly different Murderous Redcap, and at best it's 2k9's Flametongue Kavu. Seriously, this card is completely busted.
St@r's Verdict: Best card in Alara Reborn, hands down, no contest. You can argue about positions 10-2 all you want, and even put up a defense for notable absents such as Mycoid Shepherd, but the first spot is definitely Bloodbraid Elf's. It will change the way RGx aggro decks funcion, and it will change the way aggro-control and control decks deals with them. Like I mentioned many times already, Standard is a very hostile format for anything with power and toughness, and it's true champions such as Bloodbraid Elf that'll lead the forces clashing in the red zone. Forget slow, clunky, single-body creatures such as Rafiq. Path to Exile and Terminate are setting up the rules, and we have to be creative if we want to bring aggression to the table. Cascade in a 3/2 hasty body is exactly the way to do that.
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And with this excellent Elf, I'm finished. Thanks for reading up to here, and please share your thoughts in this thread. Happy testing and good luck to everyone in the upcoming tournaments.
If you realistically think, "ok, when it hits the field it will be 3x the Lacerator in p/t majority of the game." you can assume it's better than it. what about cost though? "one B?!?!? no f!@#ing wey." This is where you should replace those lacerators with a death's shadow.
Interesting top 10...
I really want to make a R/G/b aggro deck abusing the elf with other things like Ramgang and the 3/2 from ARB. (Obviously with acceleration to drop him T3)
Most of these cascade cards will reward careful deck construction, but two spells for the price of one is always good.
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The list has some good cards on it, but some of the evaluations are way off. Pulse at #10... Pulse is every bit as good as vindicate in the current standard. It wrecks spectral processions, jund tokens, oblivion rings, and gets lucky against occasional double creatures.
Bloodbraid is currently under-rated, as I agree that it is insane. But Pat Chapin has already given a similar opinion on it, so this is not a new evaluation.
Interesting list, obviously your trying to get a nice argument out of this.
That said I actually agree with most of it, the only thing I think should be different is Maelstrom Pulse, which in a token heavy environment(IE current standard) can be very useful by either taking card of a single big annoyance(like Ajani) or taking card of alot of small nuisances(like spectral, goblin or faerie rogue tokens).
- It's definitely not Vindicate. Hitting lands is terrific.
Yep.
- It's not always better than Putrefy. In fact, most of the time, it's worse. Remember that Putrefy deceptively hits 'lands': Artifact lands, signets, borderposts etc.
I thought this was mainly targeted at Standard? Signets/Artifact lands aren't here. Besides, this hits signets and borderposts.
- The echoing effect is bad in mirror matches. Really bad.
Don't know about "really bad," but more situational. Everyone will remember the 10% that it screws them over while the other 90% it was good they'll forget.
- The echoing effect is useless vs planeswalkers (not that killing a single one isn't worth it, just that it's the only option).
LOL Doesn't matter. They're game-breakers.
- Sorcery speed, in the current Standard, is a huge letdown for a removal spell.
This is to versatile anyways. Which is why Vindicate gets played.
- It's basically Oblivion Ring, but better about 70% of the time, and worse about 30% of the time. When you consider that O-Ring is a monocolored common, you realize that Maelstrom Pulse is at least a little bit worse than it looked at first.
Rarity has nothing to do with it if you're making the deck the best you can. We're talking about tournaments, some worth 10s of thousands of dollars. And the color difference(which has a bigger effect than people like to parade, even with Reflecting Pool standard. Which is about to rotate out in a few months, far from the majority of Maelstrom Pulse's time limit)
- The one obvious home for this card, BG Elves, runs removal that fits at least one of the following criteria: 1) It's an Instant and 2) It's an Elf. Maelstrom Pulse is neither.
Rest of answers in bold.
Sets aren't made to custom fit the current decks out there, decks are made to custom fit the sets. Current Standard has much less of a say in the matter than you're giving it.
You're comparing this to the better Vindicate and thinking "this sucks". It's non-land permanent destruction. Don't put so much stock in the echoing part as a plus or a minus, it'll have little effect on the vast majority of games.
I just read this portion. To me your analysis is really bad.
For analysis so heavy on the BR side of things, I'm surprised Anathemancer was left out, considering it's some serious tech against 5CC and many other decks.
Sets aren't made to custom fit the current decks out there, decks are made to custom fit the sets. Current Standard has much less of a say in the matter than you're giving it.
You're comparing this to the better Vindicate and thinking "this sucks". It's non-land permanent destruction. Don't put so much stock in the echoing part as a plus or a minus, it'll have little effect on the vast majority of games.
I just read this portion. To me your analysis is really bad.
Agreed. While the card definitely wont break the format in any way, the versatility of it will make it VERY much a staple in tournament decks.
I also agree with the person above me that price of progress on legs will be in SB of any deck using b/r.
Interesting top 10...
I really want to make a R/G/b aggro deck abusing the elf with other things like Ramgang and the 3/2 from ARB. (Obviously with acceleration to drop him T3)
Most of these cascade cards will reward careful deck construction, but two spells for the price of one is always good.
@seds: Yeah I think RGB is the way to go. Cascade is very powerful and the best Cascade cards are Bloodbraid Elf and Bituminous Blast by a mile. They become worse the faster the format becomes, because fast formats demand cheap (faster) answers and thus usually weaker spells to Cascade into.
@lacosa83: How's it a 3x1 vs Procession when Procession is a single card? It's 1x1 with Procession. Against Fae you'll lose your Pulse to Scion of Oona. Like you said, it's a 1x1 with nonland permanents, but for 3 mana at sorcery speed, so is Oblivion Ring, and that's not a defining card by any means. Should I've rated Pulse higher? Maybe. But #1? Hell no. At least 5-6 cards in my list are stronger than Pulse.
@Phaethon: Putrid Leech, Cerodon Yearling, the new Fertile Ground, the 3/2 RG Viridian Shaman, and many more. Alara Reborn is wicked good and it was really hard to make a list of ten cards only. I stand behind my review on Pulse though and I knew from the start that it would be the #1 reason for discussion and disagreement in this thread. This is what happens when you take everyone's (including Mike Flores) pet card and place it 10th in a ten-card list
@Smokestack: Yeah I did oversimplify, and they won't disappear by no means. They just fail the Terminate test (and failure at that test =/= unplayability). Terror doesn't kill Tidehollow Sculler and the other B/x creatures in the format, and killing Doran is more relevant than you are giving it credit for. Ask a 5CC player running Terrors if they're happy when they face Doran with stuff like Plumeveil, Volcanic Fallout and Terror in their deck.
I wholeheartedly agree that Terror won't vanish from the format. BG and BW will still play it, but I think BR decks will rather play Shriekmaw alongside Terminate, not Terror.
@Pyrogoat: If you scour the BB Elf thread and threads about RG/Jund aggro, you'll see my comments about it. That was before Chapin's article this monday.
And how come Pulse wrecks Spectral Procession? You are trading 1x1 with another 3 mana sorcery. You aren't gaining any value! People need to get over the whole Pulse x tokens thing, as that's not what the card does best. Run Infest for that, if you must. Like I said in the review, token decks run 2-4 different types of tokens, so enlighten me here on why is Pulse so good against those decks? Unless it's destroying two Anthems or two Wizened Cenns, it's nothing spectacular.
And yes, I have tested with it. In a deck with 4x Bloodbraid Elf to find the 4x Maelstrom Pulses I was also running. And I wasn't amazed with Pulse. In fact, it was the #1 card I hated seeing in multiples in my starting hand.
@Machius: I'll take all the healthy discussion I can get
Like I said, Pulse is better at taking down a single walker than it is as an "answer" to BB tokens or Spectral Procession. If you are running MP because of tokens, you are running it for the wrong reason.
@Souljer: I mentioned in the beginning of the thread that I would throw an occasional comment about Extended and Block, so I set the precedent beforehand. No need to call me on Putrefy and Signets.
Also, to you and everyone else, here's what Manuel Bucher said about Maelstrom Pulse today on his SCG article:
Quote from Manuel Bucher »
Finally, another solution to Planeswalkers in Block Constructed... one that isn’t White. The card is almost always an improved Oblivion Ring. It is better at fighting tokens from Bitterblossom, but besides that I don’t expect it to be that much better than the Ring, as there should rarely be two or more permanents on the pitch with the same name. This is another reason to play Bloodbraid Elf over Ranger of Eos, as you don’t want to fetch up two copies of the same card against a deck running Maelstrom Pulse.
Don’t get me wrong, the card will see play for sure, but I think the card is a touch hyped right now. It’s not that much better than an Oblivion Ring, and it is much harder to cast.
He acknowledges it's better at fighting tokens than O-Ring, which it obviously is, but he doesn't praise the card for being able to slay a few tokens. And he also realizes that it's just not that much better than Oblivion Ring overall.
@pachuco cadaver: Well ten spots is ten spots. Anathemancer is insane vs Cruel Control, but that's basically it. Turn 3 on the play, you are dealing ~1,5 damage to a normal deck, and getting a bear out of it. The unearth cost is incredibly steep for an aggressive deck, and is only game winning vs Cruel Control. The card is quite good, but it's much more SB material than top ten material.
@beanman1000: Maelstrom Pulse won't even be a staple in decks running Black and Green. See BG Elves... it runs Terror and Eyeblight's Ending. Because they are either an instant, an Elf, or both. They kill Mistbind Clique, the Plumeveil that appeared out of nowhere, and kills during the EOT the Sower that just stule a Colossus. Speed > versatility right now, and while MP is one of the most versatile removal spells out there, it's also one of the slowest.
Personally i think cascade is a pretty random ability, you might hit boggard ram gang, you might hit mogg fanatic.. etc
The thing is, with bloodbraid elf you don't really care which card you hit. In the type of deck it'll be played in, every card will always be relevant.
-Mycoid Shepherd, while a great beater with a great ability...how often is this going to be a better card choice than Wilt-Leaf Liege? Once it rotates, maybe this will get more love, but right now, white laughs it away, and there are more solid choices for decks. (Finks and Liege)
-Jenara is mana intensive, and is in tough competition for card slots in some tight decks. It is in a format saturated with disposable flying creatures, and War Monk has a better shot at making a difference whenever it goes sideways than she does. Highly overrated card, IMO.
-Uril is fun as anything for EDH and casual, but will 5 for a super-shroud 5/5 be enough? Possible SB tech against certain decks, but nothing to break the meta. Niche card, not top 10 material.
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I think these reviews are superbly written and well thought out, congratulations.
I think that Pulse should be a little higher, however. The card is just so versatile. It can also see use just to clear mass tokens, especially in the double Bitterblossom scenario that you evoked. Three mana to nuke near anything is just really solid.
I agree that Bloodbraid Elf is the nuts and is my first pick, too. I am excited to play with that one for sure.
EDIT: Also, the Anathemancer has the potential to be colossal in the current environment. Resolving and recurring this guy could easily be 8 or 10 damage, and I think he will be important before long especially against 5CC.
I wholly concur that Bloodbraid Elf is the shizzle - Not only does this card belong on the top of this list but also in my Naya ramp deck - Looking forward to cascade a Wooly Thoctar or something similarily distressing for my opponent.
I should very much like you to revisit this list in a few more weeks after some solid game time and suggest possible revisions.
I have to concur with the placement of Bloodbraid Elf. I just hope it won't be too expensive for us casual players. Hopefully other people won't catch on, hehehe...
Hey guys thanks a lot for the comments! I must say I didn't expect this to reach ~30 posts this fast. Thanks a lot for reading and dropping by to discuss.
@panos: It's what seds said. Jenara is overrated, and is going to impact Standard in the same way Woolly Thoctar does, with occasional appearances in pet decks of the right colors. I don't see her being better than Rhox War Monk, and decks running Monk have no trouble splashing Black for Doran, which is vastly superior.
Uril passes the Terminate test, but is very easy to be dealt with the "old way", a combination of permission plus (if permission fails) chump blocking with Bitterblossom and others. If it had Trample a la Kodama of the North tree it would be a whole different story, but as it is it's just dying to be chumped by the vast ammount of tokens in the format.
Finally, Mycoid is deceptively worse than both Hierarch and Baloth. Gaining life upfront or at any time for a sac is a lot better than gaining life when/if your opponent decides to kill it. It's also harder to cast than both, and is in the same format as Path to Exile which gets around the lifegain ability altogether. It's definitely among the top 15 best cards of the set, but I had to leave it out for the ones I picked. Maybe after Lrw/Shm rotates away taking all the tokens with them... but keep in mind Oblivion Ring and Path to Exile will still be a problem.
@Needlesworth: Of the two Maelstrom spells in Reborn, one is deceptively bad, and one is obviously bad
Seriously, Nexus is cute, but won't cut it. For that cost I'd rather cast Child of Alara, Horde of Notions or Maelstrom Archangel, really. If I'm going that route, might as well go big :B
@everyone: thanks a lot for the compliments, it's very satisfying to see that the time I've put in this review is being appreciated.
I think it's a bit early to declare Bloodbraid Elf the best card of the set. We still can't say for certain how good Cascade will be. I know it will be good, but it may be getting a bit overhyped. For one thing Cascade prevents you from efficiently playing situationnal spells (counterspells, Lavalanche,Fight to the Death).
Also for a set that finally has good playable mythics, not many of them found their way into the list. Jenara and Lord of Extinction will certainly see a lot of play.
I think it's a bit early to declare Bloodbraid Elf the best card of the set. We still can't say for certain how good Cascade will be. I know it will be good, but it may be getting a bit overhyped. For one thing Cascade prevents you from efficiently playing situationnal spells (counterspells, Lavalanche,Fight to the Death).
Also for a set that finally has good playable mythics, not many of them found their way into the list. Jenara and Lord of Extinction will certainly see a lot of play.
If you build your deck so that you don't have crappy situational cards in it, cascade is fine.
And that is the kind of deck the OP is testing it in, and I am proxying up to test the card myself.
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Before I begin, here's a few things that will help everyone enjoy this thread a lot better:
- The focus of this analysis is Standard. I'll maybe throw in a comment or two about other formats such as Block and Extended, but my focus is definitely the Standard format.
- I've assigned positions to these 10 cards according to the impact I believe they're going to have. This is just my opinion, and arguing about ranks and whether or not card X should go down a position or two or go up a position or two is basically pointless. If you believe the card in question is top 10 material, it shouldn't really matter if it's card #10 or card #1 in the list.
- Ten is a somewhat low number. The spoiler isn't complete and I can think of at least 5 cards I'd like to put in this top ten, but didn't. What I'm trying to say is that there's surely many more good cards among the 103 spoiled so far besides these ten I chose to comment, and they should obviously be taken into consideration too. Not to mention that some of them will probably be brought up as I discuss the ten cards I chose.
- Open your mind and try not to think of existing archetypes vs non-existing archetypes. There are cards in this list that don't yet have a home, or an obvious home, but that doesn't mean that a new deck can't/won't emerge because (or in spite of) the card. Likewise, I won't consider an advantage if a new card ''already has a home''. I'm trying to analyze the cards here both in a vacuum and in the context that puts the card at its fullest. Whether or not that context will be viable or even exist once the metagame stabilizes can't be foreseen right now.
- Please share your thoughts, all of them, but be constructive whenever possible. If you disagree with something I said, if you saw something I overlooked, etc, please chime in with your own view. Healthy discussion is what makes the true gems of a new set appear, not a single mind looking at the spoiler. That's why some ''mistakes'' end up seeing print, and some even get banned: millions of players thinking, testing and playing 24/7 do a much better job of wearing down all the possibilities of a card than 6-12 R&D members in an office for a few months.
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All right, let's begin.
#10 - Maelstrom Pulse
We kick things off to one of the hottest cards of the new set, a card that most of you probably thought would be in a higher position here. Well, right off the bat, before I talk about its qualities, here's a few things this card is not:
- It's definitely not Vindicate. Hitting lands is terrific.
- It's not always better than Putrefy. In fact, most of the time, it's worse. Remember that Putrefy deceptively hits 'lands': Artifact lands, signets, borderposts etc.
- The echoing effect is bad in mirror matches. Really bad.
- The echoing effect is useless vs planeswalkers (not that killing a single one isn't worth it, just that it's the only option).
- Sorcery speed, in the current Standard, is a huge letdown for a removal spell.
- It's basically Oblivion Ring, but better about 70% of the time, and worse about 30% of the time. When you consider that O-Ring is a monocolored common, you realize that Maelstrom Pulse is at least a little bit worse than it looked at first.
- The one obvious home for this card, BG Elves, runs removal that fits at least one of the following criteria: 1) It's an Instant and 2) It's an Elf. Maelstrom Pulse is neither.
For all of these reasons, MP occupies the tenth slot of my list. Maelstrom Pulse, as good as it is, is reminiscent of Unmake. Remember Unmake? How awesome it is, etc? Well, Unmake sees zero play, and there's a very strong BW deck around. The problem is that Terror and Path to Exile are just better - a lot better - and Maelstrom Pulse has similar competition. Granted, it kills three other card types: artifacts, enchantments and planeswalkers, but it's not the most efficient way to take care of any of those. What are the artifacts and enchantments that are played in this format?
Tidehollow Sculler
Loxodon Warhammer (usually 1-2 copies in a few select decks)
Bitterblossom
Glorious Anthem
Runed Halo, which appears occasionally
Oblivion Ring
Fertile Ground, very rarely
and maybe some Borderposts, which probably won't see enough play until Lor/Shm rotates away
Maelstrom Pulse isn't cheaper than any of them. The #1 pro of a removal spell is being cheaper than whatever it's preying on. Or, of course, hitting more than one thing at once, which in the end is basically the same thing. Maelstrom Pulse is obviously awesome when it hits 2x Anthems or *gasp* 2x Oblivion Rings, but what about Bitterblossom? If my opponent has two blossoms out, do I really want to destroy them? First of all, since MP is a 3-mana sorcery, it opens me up to an epic fail vs a Scion of Oona. Second of all, isn't it better to just maintain the blossoms with stuff like Volcanic Fallout or Cloudthresher, and let them worry about being Shocked once per upkeep?
The artifacts aren't too promising either. Tidehollow Sculler is a fine target, but the 2/2 mechanical zombie can simply rip the Pulse itself (and that's what it usually does, rip a removal spell). Loxodon Warhammer is a fine target too, but it costs the same as the Pulse, so at best you get parity. Borderposts are obviously excellent Pulse targets, but like I said I don't think they'll see heavy Standard play right now. They're good, but not really needed right now. Maybe when the excellent vivid/pool/filterlands fixing rotates.
Now, don't get me wrong. Maelstrom Pulse is obviously a strong card, because of its versatility. It's not the best way to deal with a creature. Or with an artifact. Same for enchantments and planeswalkers. But it offers, in a single slot, a solution to all of those, and that's definitely good enough. The fact that it's gold is almost meaningless in this colorful world, but the fact that it costs 3 and is a sorcery can't be overlooked. Creatures are excellent these days: they cost next to nothing and/or come in multiples. Even the token decks, which MP is supposedly very good against, run sometimes four different kinds of tokens, so you aren't even guaranteed to wipe the board clean of them.
St@r's Verdict: Maelstrom Pulse is going to be a staple SB card. It's good against decks that run full playsets of expensive permanents, which sadly isn't very common in this metagame (plus it takes splash damage from a card you'll see down the list). A few relevant threats happen to have pro-Black to boot, like Chameleon Colossus and Stillmoon Cavalier. Expect to see this against decks that can cast it, but don't expect 4x maindeck pulses in any deck that can tap for both B and G. It's just not that good of a card.
Moving on, we have one interesting piece in...
#9 - Thought Hemorrage
Ah, Cranial Extraction. I missed you not, and now I'll have to play with you
Thought Hemorrage isn't a "harder to cast" Cranial. It's a Cranial that sometimes will Bolt the dome once or twice, and that's quite an upside over the previous version. That single R mana in the cost is negligible in today's Standard, and the ability to get rid of all the Reveillarks, Cloudgoat Rangers or Ajani Vengeants of an opposing deck is not to be underestimated. We're back to the world of "1-3 ofs", in order not to be completely overwhelmed by Thought Hemorrage. Ok, maybe it's not that extreme, but a few really important slots in every deck will have to be diversified a bit so that this card (or another one I'll get to in a minute) doesn't wreck your day.
Control decks particularly will have to spread its finishers out a little. Running 3x Broodmates or 3x Ajanis isn't wise anymore. Instead, it's best to run stuff like 1x Cloudthresher, 2x Broodmates, 2x Ajanis and 1x Liliana Vess, for example. The sole existance of a card like Thought Hemorrage is healthy for any given format, because it forces variety and makes more cards playable. Cards that were "just like card X, only slightly worse" will now be played alongside that card, since they're similar and the variety gives a little TH protection. Chameleon Colossus won't have to compete with Wilt-Leaf Liege in Elves anymore, as the deck will rather play a 2/2 or 3/1 split rather than run a full playset only to lose it to Thought Hemorrage. There's another little gem in Alara Reborn that punishes players running full playsets of spells, and these two cards combined will change the way people build their decks.
St@r's Verdict: Thought Hemorrage, alongside all the good BR stuff in Alara Reborn will quite possibly revive the Machine Head archetype of the old Invasion days, and quite possibly make a "new" archetype appear, Jund Rock. There's a lot going on for this shard right now, and I expect a Jund-based deck of some sort to rise to Tier 1 status with the debut of Alara Reborn.
Coming up next there's a creature that I'm sure will shake the format up...
This is a three drop I can get behind. Dauntless Escort isn't trying to do anything fancy. It has no combat abilities. It's smaller than what GW usually gets for three mana, stuff like Anurid Brushopper and Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers. It doesn't even have a good creature type. But it has a very special and unique ability that has a LOT of value: It protects your team vs mass removal of all sorts except Infest/Mutilate variants. The most important and obvious one: Wrath of God. Dauntless Escort revolutionizes the format by making this possible:
Creature decks can now play Wrath of God themselves.
I can't stress enough how important that is. Right now the format is basically Mono Red/Blightning, Faeries, Cruel Control, and the myriad of Spectral Procession decks, of many flavors. Those Spectral Procession decks don't usually run Green, but Dauntless Escort is a very strong incentive to do so. Wrath of God is going to be wicked good in mirror matches of Spectral Procession decks if you're able to wipe the other side of the board clean while losing your Escort and nothing else. Green has just laid one big Ace on the table, and your Green or White aggro deck will need a big reason not to splash the second color to run Dauntless Escort.
On the fragility side, the Escort is obviously very fragile itself, but with an excellent sac ability that vulnerability isn't a problem. Basically if they go for the Escort they aren't going for anything else that turn. Blocking mecomes miserable. Stuff like Volcanic Fallout and Jund Charm can't be cast with an Escort in play or they'll be rendered useless. The player has to target the Escort with another removal spell first and then sweep in response to the sac ability. That takes at least 4 mana if the removal spell is Path, and obviously the right colors of mana to do so. It's just very complicated math for the defending player.
I know that a 3/3 for 3 is barely exciting - Trained Armodon anyone? - but the ability is so unique, so relevant, so good, that the package becomes quite significant. Hell I won't be surprised if Bant/Dark Bant decks start running Dauntless Escort before they even try stuff like Jenara out. In a hostile world like today's Standard, if a creature's gonna have a big target in its head, it should at least take something down with it.
Oh and did I mention how excellent this is in Extended, where a timely Chord of Calling can save a whole team? Dauntless Escort, 1-of in Elves? I think so.
St@r's Verdict: Sometimes less is better. Standard is a big format and it will grow even bigger before it rotates again: both Alara Reborn and Magic 2010 are coming without pushing anything out of the format. Unique abilities like Dauntless Escort's rise tremendously in value in such environments, because random soldiers to beat down with are everywhere, but ones that let you play Wrath of God in aggro decks are one-of-a-kind. The lack of other abilities should not drive players away from this card, which I'm sure will be underestimated a lot before it's truly appreciated.
Next is another gem from the Selesnya Conclave...
#7 - Qasali Pridemage
Comparisons to Watchwolf are a bit unfair to the excellent 3/3 from Ravnica (consistency is key), but aren't too far from the truth, I must say. In the first turns of the game Qasali Pridemage really is akin to Watchwolf, but it does eat a nice and timely Volcanic Fallout. No worries, since it's just a two-drop.
Wait, not 'just' a two-drop. This also has a built-in Naturalize ability, which is pretty awesome in a creature that's already playable by its cost and size. Stuff like Tidehollow Sculler, Bitterblossom and Glorious Anthem is very common in today's Standard, and your opponents running these will have to think twice before killing your Pridemage, at the risk of being two-for-one'd by the Naturalize effect.
Qasali Pridemage combos very well with Noble Hierarch, to boot, swinging as a 4/4 very early in the game. I'm not sure if a dedicated GW exalted deck will come to be, but does one need to really? Exalted is obviously better in multiples but it's good enough in 1-3 different creatures in an aggro deck. Qasali Pridemage, alongside Noble Hierarch and a few others, is good besides having Exalted, not because of it. I'm sure it will be heavily played in decks with access to both Green and White mana, because it's a good enough addition to an aggressive force and a very harmless way to add Naturalize to your deck. It's yet another card that fights Bitterblossom, and that can't be overlooked.
St@r's Verdict: Power creep, anyone? It's been a while since a common were this good. This is reminiscent of stuff like Yavimaya Elder and Sakura-Tribe Elder. It's certainly less of a staple and fits in less decks, but it's a Green creature that has a lot going for its low mana cost, just like these elders from the past. Bant is looking a lot stronger with the new gems from Alara Reborn, and I'm certain it will rise to Tier 1 status once Lrw/Shm rotates. Barring linear brokeness in Zendikar, of course.
Going up two steps in rarity, we find one of the best finishers in the whole Alara block. Meet...
Remember Angel of Despair? Let that sink in for a minute. Yes, there are quite a few differences between these seven-drops, namely:
- Angel of Despair has a CIP ability, which means it's reanimation-friendly. The Sphinx, not so much.
- Enigma Sphinx is an Artifact, and with that comes a lot of extra vulnerability (but also a lot of extra applications, like being accelerated by Etherium Sculptor and Master Transmuter).
- Enigma Sphinx is a full color 'harder' to cast, which isn't that big of a deal but sure is going to be relevant at one point.
- That extra toughness in AoD is quite relevant in a format with both Flame Javelin and Plumeveil. *E. Sphinx frowns*
- Enigma Sphinx and its effect are split in two spells, which makes it a far better card against permission, specially Broken Ambitions (which usually has no problem dealing with a seven drop for just a few mana). While Angel of Despair is easily answered by a timely Blue instant, Enigma Sphinx is both a 5/4 flier and ''whatever it cascades into'', and it's up to your opponent which one he will have to deal with in a different way.
People are all over creatures like Karrthus and Thraximundar, finishers that will simply be Pathed or Terminated into oblivion, to say the least. There's also permission, Wrath, etc. What this means to all of us is that 5+ drops have to be justified, period. Stuff like Cloudgoat Ranger, Siege-Gang Commander, Reveillark, Broodmate Dragon, all have advantages against at least some of the format's answers. Specially the one-for-ones Terror, Path and the old kid that just moved to the block, Terminate. Enigma Sphinx shares some of these advantages, thanks to Cascade. In a deck with solid cards such as Cryptic Command, Wrath of God, Mulldrifter, and Esper Charm, Enigma Sphinx can read:
"When Enigma Sphinx is played, destroy all creatures. They can't be regenerated"
Say hello to a new, improved Desolation Giant.
"When Enigma Sphinx is played, put a 2/2 flying fish into play and draw two cards"
Sort of a different take on Broodmate Dragon: You get two fliers as well, with weird bodies, but you get a free Inspiration to boot.
"When Enigma Sphinx is played, choose two: Draw a card, bounce target permanent, or tap target player's creatures"
At Sorcery-speed, the 4th mode from Cryptic is not going to be very useful, but cantrip + bounce + a 5/4 flier is a sweet deal for seven mana, I must say.
"When Enigma Sphinx comes into play, choose one: Inspiration, Mind Rot, or Demistify"
All very good, obviously.
And there's even more possibilities, really. If you run Shriekmaw in your deck instead of Terrors, you can get a free 3/2 fear creature + Terror with Cascade. Certainly good enough. It's just a matter of sculpting your deck so that it has more cards that are good to Cascade into rather than cards you don't really want to Cascade into, such as Broken Ambitions. And that is certainly doable. I think Enigma Sphinx will play a very strong role in Block Constructed, where it will shine in Esper Control, and it may also "revive" the Solar Flare archetype in Standard. Granted, we don't have signets or bouncelands and the Sphinx isn't too hot with Mannequin since Cascade isn't a CIP ability, but the spirit of the archetype can easily be revived. I can't wait to Cascade into Mulldrifters, Shriekmaws and Reveillarks.
St@r's Verdict: Think of it like Esper's take on Broodmate Dragon. Like I said, finishers have to be justified in today's Standard, because 5+ mana is a heavy commitment of both mana and tempo to be lost to a cheap spell like Path to Exile, Terminate or Broken Ambitions. As interesting as Karrthus, Thraximundar and Sphinx of the Steel Wind look, they are all easy prey to a handful of answers that are commonly played, and thus aren't really worth looking into. Enigma Sphinx is always going to be at least a two-for-one (except against Double Negative), giving you at least some value for the invested mana. In five-color control it competes with Cloudthresher and Cruel Ultimatum and doesn't really fit into the deck's plan, but if something like Esper Control emerges, I'm sure it will run some number of Enigma Sphinxes.
We keep the keyword and one of the Sphinx's colors and go down one step in rarity to find...
#5 - Bituminous Blast
Say hello to Prophetic Bolt. The first time we got an excellent multicolored third set it was Apocalypse, and in it we had a nice Izzet gem that is basically Flame Javelin + Impulse for five mana. Bituminous Blast takes away the doming half of Flame Javelin but takes Impulse to the next level: You get to play the card rather than just draw it, and it will always be a spell, not a land. The only problem is that you don't get to choose it, but you can certainly shape your deck so that it has only decent to excellent options to Cascade into with BBlast.
At five mana, Bituminous Blast has just the right cost to cascade into Thought Hemorrage, Ajani Vengeant, Elspeth, and other bombs. Can you imagine killing a x/4 creature at eot and flipping a Planeswalker right into play? Or maybe a Volcanic Fallout and basically wiping the board clean for five mana at instant speed? Or Thought Hemorrage, which returns the doming half of Flame Javelin to the card and also Extracts your opponent's deck out of Reveillarks/Cryptic Commands/Cloudgoat Ranger/etc.
If you flip Thought Hemorrage with BBlast and extract a card that your opponent was holding, you just killed a x/4 creature, Incinerated your opponent, and extracted his deck. All for five mana. Hemorrage itself costs 4, the Incinerate to the dome would cost an extra two mana, and 4 to a creature is usually three mana. These effects combined would add up to ~9 mana total split between three cards, but you can get all that for five mana and a single Bituminous Blast. And that's just one possible scenario, although admittedly one of the best ones. Even if you flip cheaper, ''more fair'' spells like Terminate and Incinerate, you kill two creatures, at instant speed, for five mana. Quite a sweet deal. Or the outcome can go totally insane if you flip a Bloodbraid Elf... heaven forbid.
St@r's Verdict: Alara Reborn has been *very* kind to BR, offering four excellent cards to the archetype, three of which I've already mentioned up to here. I don't think aggro will be the chosen route for the archetype any longer, at least not in the way Blightning decks have been playing these days. I think a Machine Head of sorts will be the next big thing, with or without an extra color. Bituminous Blast is, most of the time, better than Prophetic Bolt, which is an excellent card to begin with. Cascade is a very scary mechanic, and stapled into an instant-speed removal spell it's just nuts. Expect to see Bituminous Blast in Standard as soon as Alara Reborn hits the market, and expect it to help define the Block Constructed metagame. This card really is that good.
Here's another card that will definitely see play in quite a few BR decks...
(and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the cycle)
As if Watchwolf, Scab-Clan Mauler, Wren's Run Vanquisher, and the exalted guys weren't enough, we get another five potential 3/x creatures for two mana in this excellent cycle of commons. They are all quite good, as the abilities gained are all desirable, but Jund Hackblade deserves special mention. Haste is just savage in a 3/x creature for two mana, specially one that doesn't die at EOT like Hellspark Elemental. Let's think about the possibilities for a second.
Tattermunge Maniac and Figure of Destiny are two multicolored one-drops that are quite playable (Figure is quite excellent actually), and that will help enable a turn 2 fully powered Jund Hackblade. Those two aside, we have Boggart Ram-Gang, Murderous Redcap and Bloodbraid Elf higher in the curve, all excellent multicolored creatures to power Jund Hackblade. Cascading into the Hackblade with Bloodbraid Elf gives us two 3/2 hasty guys for just four mana. That reminds me of Skizzik. That looks like a mini Broodmate Dragon that swings for 6 right away. That's awesome.
Anyway, going back to the Hackblade, it really shouldn't be hard to abuse it in an aggro deck, and I see a Zoo deck of sorts rising with Alara Reborn. Whether that deck will be RGW, BRG or just RG or BR if yet to be found out about, after a significant ammount of testing. I know I want to put 4x Bloodbraid Elf and 4x Bituminous Blast in a deck and go from there, so I'm definitely going to explore Jund first. There's a ton of amazing haste creatures for us to choose, and a lot of multicolored permanents that are playable on their own and that should help power Jund Hackblade and the other blades up. Of all the excellent commons in Reborn, this cycle is one I'm sure I'll try to break.
Just a quick comment about Block Constructed. In Block we only have the borderposts as turn 1 multicolored permanents to power the blades, and I think all borderposts will see play for that reason alone. A 3/2 + ability for two mana is an excellent way to start the game, and this cycle is sure to considerably speed Alara Block Constructed up. That and all the haste in the block, which is quite ridiculous I must say. Imagine this:
4x Hellspark Elemental
4x Hell's Thunder
4x Jund Hackblade
4x Bloodbraid Elf
4x Broodmate Dragon
4x Firewild Borderpost
4x Veinfire Borderpost
4x Bituminous Blast
4x Blightning
4x Terminate
4x Resounding Thunder
16 basic lands
Untested decklist, just to illustrate. There we have 24 mana sources, eight of them that power a turn two 3/2 Hackblade. Cascading into a Borderpost isn't too much of a bummer in a deck with 4x Broodmates and 4x Resounding Thunders, since at least we're accelerating into these spells. 16 creatures have haste or potentially have haste, and 8 of them can be unearthed back into play. Rounding up we have Blightning for a little planeswalker control, and Terminate + Bituminous Blast to get problems out of the way. I'm really excited to try this thing out.
St@r's Verdict: This cycle is absolutely excellent. Notable other members of the cycle are Grixis Grimblade, which reminds me of Wren's Run Vanquisher, and Naya Hushblade, which reminds me of Nimble Mongoose. The other two are also quite playable, but don't excite me as much. Either way, expect to see all of them in Block, and most of them in Standard. Ancient Ziggurat just became a lot better.
I want to throw a few extra comments about a card I've mentioned many times already. Say hello again to...
#3 - Terminate
Sit down and relax, because Standard was just reborn. Well, maybe not because of Terminate alone, but this little instant sets the bar up quite a few positions. Patrick Chapin mentioned in his article this week how every creature in Standard is gonna have to pass the ''Terminate test'', and he's entirely correct. In Chapin's words, the Terminate test is:
"If you have a creature and your opponent has Terminate, who gets better value?"
What this means is that any creature that costs three or more mana and trades 1 for 1 with Terminate fails the Terminate test. A few names to illustrate this are Rhox War Monk, Woolly Thoctar, Rafiq of the Many, Spellbreaker Behemoth, even Doran itself *gasp*. Unlike Path to Exile, which at least concedes a free basic land to the poor soul who just lost a beater, Terminate is merciless. For two mana at instant speed, it kills anything that doesn't have protection or shroud, and that is certainly going to shake things up in Standard. Suddenly, creatures that cost 3+ have to be justified just like the more expensive ones, and the ones with CIP abilities/Persist/Cascade become a lot better, as well as Terminate-immune beaters such as Stillmoon Cavalier and Troll Ascetic.
Terminate has only one thing going against it, which is the colors that it requires. Five-color control will happily play it over Terror and maybe even Path to Exile, and obviously BR decks will run nothing less than 4 Terminates among their 75 cards, but what else? Is Jund Ramp viable? Or maybe ''Jund Rock'', as I've heard a few people mention? Possibly, yeah. What's important to have in mind is that the current Standard is very hostile to anything with power and toughness, and that we'll have to search very hard for the true fighters among all the possible soldiers.
St@r's Verdict: Format-defining spell, just like Path to Exile and Volcanic Fallout in Conflux. Block Constructed just became a lot faster and less forgiving to poor souls like Battlegrace Angel, which have been flying happily until now.
We've come all the way to position #2, which is another old friend coming back to play...
I'll just come out and say it: The people who have been saying "meh" about Meddling Mage's return are wrong. Yes, a 2/2 for two is worse today than it was back then, but the ability is just as strong and relevant, and enough to push "just a 2/2 for two" over the top. That's exactly what Tidehollow Sculler is, and it sees play inall decks that can cast it except 5CC. Meddling Mage has a lot of things going for him in this new context, but at least three deserve special mention:
- He's Reveillark-friendly.
- He gets +2/+2 from a timely Thistledown Liege.
- He gives UW Fish decks a way around Volcanic Fallout.
I can't stress enough how relevant these are. Alongside Tidehollow Sculler, Glen Elendra Archmage and Sower of Temptation, and combined with Reveillark recursion, Meddling Mage will be the cause of many headaches in Standard tables starting this May. Let's just say that a turn 2 Sculler/Mage followed by another Sculler/Mage on turn 3 can win the game right there and then. And if your opponent somehow finds a way to kill them considering that Sculler just ate a spot removal and MMage locked the mass removal spell out of the game, Reveillark brings both of them back to eat more spells. Then you lay a Glen Elendra Archmage and untap with Cryptic Command mana up... and it's game over.
Moving to beatdown, Thistledown Liege just got a new best friend. Deft Duelist wasn't good enough to make a foundation, and Vedalken Outlander wasn't enough as well, but with Meddling Mage in the mix a Boat Brew-style UW aggro control deck deck is definitely possible and viable. Consider this:
4x Meddling Mage
4x Deft Duelist
3x Knight of the White Orchid
2x Stillmoon Cavalier
2x Glen Elendra Archmage
3x Sower of Temptation
3x Reveillark
4x Thistledown Liege
4x Path to Exile
4x Spectral Procession
3x Ajani Goldmane
4x Mystic Gate
4x Adarkar Wastes
4x Windbrisk Heights
4x Reflecting Pool
4x Seaside Citadel
3x Plains
1x Island
Obviously there are more options absent and the numbers can be tweaked, but the main idea is clear: Meddling Mage, Sower of Temptation, Glen Elendra Archmage and Thistledown Liege over Boat Brew's Figure of Destiny, Murderous Redcap, Balefire Liege and Siege-Gang Commander. Ajani switches back to his monowhite stance, Mind Stone becomes Knight of the White Orchid (excellent with Thistledown Liege), and voilá. Meddling Mage naming Volcanic Fallout is extremely beneficial to this sort of deck, protecting your bears and Spectral Procession tokens from being decimated at instant speed. Reveillark topping the curve does a good job of bringing back whatever gets killed in the process, but the sheer ammount of attrition and card advantage in a deck like this can't be overlooked. Suddenly Black and Red aren't the only flavors you can add to a White base of Ajani/Heights/Procession, Green and now Blue bring many new toys to the table, very strong incentives to switch over from White's enemies to its allies.
Finally, there's UW Fish/Merfolk. That deck basicaly has to run Burrenton Forge-Tender to be viable, and probably in the maindeck, all because of Volcanic Fallout. Cursecatcher used to do a nice job of stopping mass removal or at least delaying it for a turn or two so that the UW mage could untap with Sage's Dousing/Cryptic mana up, but the uncounterable Fallout put a dent in that plan. With Meddling Mage the whole archetype is revitalized, since while you still can't counter Volcanic Fallout you sure can deny it with MM and counter whatever is thrown at Meddling Mage's face, if anything. He's not a Merfolk, of course, but with the quality of White and Blue drops right now we don't even have to run a tribal creature base. We can simply use Meddling Mage, some first strikers such as Meadowgrain, White Orchid and Duelist, and then Spectral Procession/Thistledown Liege/Cloudgoat Ranger, making some sort of a UW "White Weenie" deck.
St@r's Verdict: Meddling Mage opens the format up to a lot of new possibilities. Together with Thought Hemorrage, it might force players to run a combination of, say, Firespout/Pyroclasm/Volcanic Fallout in the "Pyroclasm slot" rather than simply run a full set of the best variant, so that MM/TH don't single-handedly stop a full slot. These two cards will change the way some or most decks are built, just like Path to Exile basically "forced" everyone to run 1-3 basics. Meddling Mage is a format-defining card, and it will do just that to Standard: redefine it.
And finally we come to the one Alara Reborn card that I foresee will most impact the format. Meet the newest member of the "best creature in Standard club"...
#1 - Bloodbraid Elf
Bloodbraid Elf is insane. Ridiculously insane. It's akin to Flametongue Kavu, Skizzik, Ranger of Eos, Broodmate Dragon... plus it untaps Gilt-Leaf Palace and enables Wren's Run Vanquisher? That's just crazy.
I'm sure most of you shouted "no way!" when I compared it to Flametongue Kavu, but think about it. If it flips Incinerate/Puncture Blast/Resounding Thunder or something in those lines, isn't it basically a hasty FTK with 1 less power and 1 less firepower, but that can go to the dome? Isn't Bloodbraid Elf basically Steamcore Weird (which was very playable) on steroids? What if you flip something like Boggart Ram-Gang or Hell's Thunder with it? You are swinging for 6-7 damage split between two spells (and two bodies), and at least the 3/2 half of this "combo" doesn't die at end of turn. Hell's Thunder/Hellspark Elemental are excellent cards to Cascade into with this, as thanks to unearth they bring a lot of damage to the table for a low mana cost.
Bloodbraid Elf puts up a serious fight with every 4-drop in the format. Cards like Spellbreaker Behemoth, which are basically single monsters for the same cost as the Elf, not only fail the "Terminate test" but also flat-out lose in a fight with Bloodbraid Elf for overall competitiveness in Standard. They are fighting with a creature that's two spells in one, that will more often than not swing for more damage in both the short and long runs, and that's way more resilient to the answers your opponent's might have. If a deck is carefully shaped so that the 1-3 drops are all "Shock or better", Bloodbraid Elf is guaranteed to be very, very good. At worst it's a slightly different Murderous Redcap, and at best it's 2k9's Flametongue Kavu. Seriously, this card is completely busted.
St@r's Verdict: Best card in Alara Reborn, hands down, no contest. You can argue about positions 10-2 all you want, and even put up a defense for notable absents such as Mycoid Shepherd, but the first spot is definitely Bloodbraid Elf's. It will change the way RGx aggro decks funcion, and it will change the way aggro-control and control decks deals with them. Like I mentioned many times already, Standard is a very hostile format for anything with power and toughness, and it's true champions such as Bloodbraid Elf that'll lead the forces clashing in the red zone. Forget slow, clunky, single-body creatures such as Rafiq. Path to Exile and Terminate are setting up the rules, and we have to be creative if we want to bring aggression to the table. Cascade in a 3/2 hasty body is exactly the way to do that.
-----
And with this excellent Elf, I'm finished. Thanks for reading up to here, and please share your thoughts in this thread. Happy testing and good luck to everyone in the upcoming tournaments.
--St@r
XFD Flame Infraction
I really want to make a R/G/b aggro deck abusing the elf with other things like Ramgang and the 3/2 from ARB. (Obviously with acceleration to drop him T3)
Most of these cascade cards will reward careful deck construction, but two spells for the price of one is always good.
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maelstrom pulse should be a few places higher, but otherwise I couldn't have put together a better list myself
except for putrid leech you forgot that one
Bloodbraid is currently under-rated, as I agree that it is insane. But Pat Chapin has already given a similar opinion on it, so this is not a new evaluation.
That said I actually agree with most of it, the only thing I think should be different is Maelstrom Pulse, which in a token heavy environment(IE current standard) can be very useful by either taking card of a single big annoyance(like Ajani) or taking card of alot of small nuisances(like spectral, goblin or faerie rogue tokens).
Machius proudly supports R_E's right to Rumour!
Rest of answers in bold.
Sets aren't made to custom fit the current decks out there, decks are made to custom fit the sets. Current Standard has much less of a say in the matter than you're giving it.
You're comparing this to the better Vindicate and thinking "this sucks". It's non-land permanent destruction. Don't put so much stock in the echoing part as a plus or a minus, it'll have little effect on the vast majority of games.
I just read this portion. To me your analysis is really bad.
- 4/22/12, Knowledge from the Helvault (Part 1)
Agreed. While the card definitely wont break the format in any way, the versatility of it will make it VERY much a staple in tournament decks.
I also agree with the person above me that price of progress on legs will be in SB of any deck using b/r.
My H/W list
@seds: Yeah I think RGB is the way to go. Cascade is very powerful and the best Cascade cards are Bloodbraid Elf and Bituminous Blast by a mile. They become worse the faster the format becomes, because fast formats demand cheap (faster) answers and thus usually weaker spells to Cascade into.
@lacosa83: How's it a 3x1 vs Procession when Procession is a single card? It's 1x1 with Procession. Against Fae you'll lose your Pulse to Scion of Oona. Like you said, it's a 1x1 with nonland permanents, but for 3 mana at sorcery speed, so is Oblivion Ring, and that's not a defining card by any means. Should I've rated Pulse higher? Maybe. But #1? Hell no. At least 5-6 cards in my list are stronger than Pulse.
@Phaethon: Putrid Leech, Cerodon Yearling, the new Fertile Ground, the 3/2 RG Viridian Shaman, and many more. Alara Reborn is wicked good and it was really hard to make a list of ten cards only. I stand behind my review on Pulse though and I knew from the start that it would be the #1 reason for discussion and disagreement in this thread. This is what happens when you take everyone's (including Mike Flores) pet card and place it 10th in a ten-card list
@Smokestack: Yeah I did oversimplify, and they won't disappear by no means. They just fail the Terminate test (and failure at that test =/= unplayability). Terror doesn't kill Tidehollow Sculler and the other B/x creatures in the format, and killing Doran is more relevant than you are giving it credit for. Ask a 5CC player running Terrors if they're happy when they face Doran with stuff like Plumeveil, Volcanic Fallout and Terror in their deck.
I wholeheartedly agree that Terror won't vanish from the format. BG and BW will still play it, but I think BR decks will rather play Shriekmaw alongside Terminate, not Terror.
@Pyrogoat: If you scour the BB Elf thread and threads about RG/Jund aggro, you'll see my comments about it. That was before Chapin's article this monday.
And how come Pulse wrecks Spectral Procession? You are trading 1x1 with another 3 mana sorcery. You aren't gaining any value! People need to get over the whole Pulse x tokens thing, as that's not what the card does best. Run Infest for that, if you must. Like I said in the review, token decks run 2-4 different types of tokens, so enlighten me here on why is Pulse so good against those decks? Unless it's destroying two Anthems or two Wizened Cenns, it's nothing spectacular.
And yes, I have tested with it. In a deck with 4x Bloodbraid Elf to find the 4x Maelstrom Pulses I was also running. And I wasn't amazed with Pulse. In fact, it was the #1 card I hated seeing in multiples in my starting hand.
@Machius: I'll take all the healthy discussion I can get
Like I said, Pulse is better at taking down a single walker than it is as an "answer" to BB tokens or Spectral Procession. If you are running MP because of tokens, you are running it for the wrong reason.
@Souljer: I mentioned in the beginning of the thread that I would throw an occasional comment about Extended and Block, so I set the precedent beforehand. No need to call me on Putrefy and Signets.
Also, to you and everyone else, here's what Manuel Bucher said about Maelstrom Pulse today on his SCG article:
He acknowledges it's better at fighting tokens than O-Ring, which it obviously is, but he doesn't praise the card for being able to slay a few tokens. And he also realizes that it's just not that much better than Oblivion Ring overall.
@pachuco cadaver: Well ten spots is ten spots. Anathemancer is insane vs Cruel Control, but that's basically it. Turn 3 on the play, you are dealing ~1,5 damage to a normal deck, and getting a bear out of it. The unearth cost is incredibly steep for an aggressive deck, and is only game winning vs Cruel Control. The card is quite good, but it's much more SB material than top ten material.
@beanman1000: Maelstrom Pulse won't even be a staple in decks running Black and Green. See BG Elves... it runs Terror and Eyeblight's Ending. Because they are either an instant, an Elf, or both. They kill Mistbind Clique, the Plumeveil that appeared out of nowhere, and kills during the EOT the Sower that just stule a Colossus. Speed > versatility right now, and while MP is one of the most versatile removal spells out there, it's also one of the slowest.
Thanks for the hard work put in. This is a reference for a poor analysis.
Maelstrom Pulse just happens to be slightly worse than a Vindicate. The same Vindicate that destroys a permanent.
Surely deserving of a place better than #10.
C Standard C
UW Delver Blade
UBW Esper Control
S Legacy S
URGW Forty Two Control
UBR Past in Tendrils
C Commander C
UB Sygg, River Cutthroat
The thing is, with bloodbraid elf you don't really care which card you hit. In the type of deck it'll be played in, every card will always be relevant.
I'll do this:
-Mycoid Shepherd, while a great beater with a great ability...how often is this going to be a better card choice than Wilt-Leaf Liege? Once it rotates, maybe this will get more love, but right now, white laughs it away, and there are more solid choices for decks. (Finks and Liege)
-Jenara is mana intensive, and is in tough competition for card slots in some tight decks. It is in a format saturated with disposable flying creatures, and War Monk has a better shot at making a difference whenever it goes sideways than she does. Highly overrated card, IMO.
-Uril is fun as anything for EDH and casual, but will 5 for a super-shroud 5/5 be enough? Possible SB tech against certain decks, but nothing to break the meta. Niche card, not top 10 material.
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I think that Pulse should be a little higher, however. The card is just so versatile. It can also see use just to clear mass tokens, especially in the double Bitterblossom scenario that you evoked. Three mana to nuke near anything is just really solid.
I agree that Bloodbraid Elf is the nuts and is my first pick, too. I am excited to play with that one for sure.
EDIT: Also, the Anathemancer has the potential to be colossal in the current environment. Resolving and recurring this guy could easily be 8 or 10 damage, and I think he will be important before long especially against 5CC.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Like freeform roleplaying? Try Darkness Befalls Us
Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
Other than that, I agree with all your picks. Carry on.
I wholly concur that Bloodbraid Elf is the shizzle - Not only does this card belong on the top of this list but also in my Naya ramp deck - Looking forward to cascade a Wooly Thoctar or something similarily distressing for my opponent.
I should very much like you to revisit this list in a few more weeks after some solid game time and suggest possible revisions.
~
@panos: It's what seds said. Jenara is overrated, and is going to impact Standard in the same way Woolly Thoctar does, with occasional appearances in pet decks of the right colors. I don't see her being better than Rhox War Monk, and decks running Monk have no trouble splashing Black for Doran, which is vastly superior.
Uril passes the Terminate test, but is very easy to be dealt with the "old way", a combination of permission plus (if permission fails) chump blocking with Bitterblossom and others. If it had Trample a la Kodama of the North tree it would be a whole different story, but as it is it's just dying to be chumped by the vast ammount of tokens in the format.
Finally, Mycoid is deceptively worse than both Hierarch and Baloth. Gaining life upfront or at any time for a sac is a lot better than gaining life when/if your opponent decides to kill it. It's also harder to cast than both, and is in the same format as Path to Exile which gets around the lifegain ability altogether. It's definitely among the top 15 best cards of the set, but I had to leave it out for the ones I picked. Maybe after Lrw/Shm rotates away taking all the tokens with them... but keep in mind Oblivion Ring and Path to Exile will still be a problem.
@Needlesworth: Of the two Maelstrom spells in Reborn, one is deceptively bad, and one is obviously bad
Seriously, Nexus is cute, but won't cut it. For that cost I'd rather cast Child of Alara, Horde of Notions or Maelstrom Archangel, really. If I'm going that route, might as well go big :B
@everyone: thanks a lot for the compliments, it's very satisfying to see that the time I've put in this review is being appreciated.
Also for a set that finally has good playable mythics, not many of them found their way into the list. Jenara and Lord of Extinction will certainly see a lot of play.
If you build your deck so that you don't have crappy situational cards in it, cascade is fine.
And that is the kind of deck the OP is testing it in, and I am proxying up to test the card myself.
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