Set is complete & everyone wants to know from each other what the best cards are
I go first:
Monastery Mentor Most Potential of all here Soulfire Grand Master Another Jeskai top-card. Lategame skillz here Warden of the first Tree If the first form is good enough, then it will be very powerful Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Finaly the Vizedrix at Mythic Rare from KTK can be replaced Citadel Siege The Khans-mode from this card was very convincing during playtest Monastery Siege Another flexible card & cheap enough Atarka, World Render on her own shes a giant attacker, but with more Dragons from DTK her ablity can win the game, after shes on the board. Dromoka, the Eternal 5 Mana 5/5 Flying in green which reinforces a creature with each Dragon-Attack ? gross d:O Shaman of the great Hunt i hope Temur sees more play because of this. 2 Brutal Hordechief Maybe Mardu can need this ? Basicaly unblockable
1. Monastery Mentor - looks very amazing, token producer for doing what decks using this would already be doing (casting noncreature spells)
2. Brutal hordechief - a curve-topper that will end games quickly and already has a home in an established deck
3. Warden of the First Tree - small creature that's been lacking in a few decks, excited to see what this card will do
4. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - picked for EDH purposes, this card should see tons of play in multiplayer formats
5. Valorous Stance - amazing utility spell, efficiently costed, and will fit into already well-established decks
6. Wild Slash / Collateral Damage (tie) - new efficiently-costed burn, I think one or both of these will see a lot of standard play
7. Flamewake Phoenix - solid card, a similar iteration did well in a format with fast red decks, which we already have in standard
8. Soulfire Grand Master - very cool looking card, I hope it finds a home in standard
9. Reality Shift - unconditional removal in blue at instant speed, aggressively costed. I think this will be a beating once the meta is established
10. Fruit of the First Tree - My sleeper card, this looks like it will give green stompy decks some longevity
Honorable Mentions:
1. Strong Manifest cards - I haven't tested enough with manifest to determine if it's great, but I think it has potential, and if it is better than I anticipate, the "good" manifest cards will be out of control, chief of which being Cloudform
2. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
3. Silumgar, the Drifting Death (him the most, but these 5cc dragons all seem like they have potential playability)
4. Edit: Forgot Dark Deal
Valorous Stance very good card, and very cheap for it's flexibility Ugin, the Spirit Dragon yeah he'll see play, maybe a lot Monastery Mentor hopefully catches on quicker than Brimaz, and does need decks built around him, but he could win some games Reality Shift I think this is the most important card in the set and will make U all the more powerful Warden of the First Tree better than FoD and FoD ruled Magic for a while. Shaman of the Great Hunt I would love to see this card succeed...seems really good with token strategies. Doesn't need to attack to use it's effect. The card draw is important and a gamewinner. Seiges Hey remember Commands? Everyone loves options and these cards are full of options. Mardu Strike Leader hey Brimaz eat your heart out. Good with Chief of the Edge Soulflayer 2 for a 4/4 trampler or flyer (or better) is never bad Whisperwood Elemental or some manifest card. It'll be a good mechanic. Get your hurloon minotaurs ready. Mardu Scout hope you got blockers
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death Needs the right deck but I think there's something there Temur Battle Rage I think this card has the potential to make Temur Aggro a real deck Valorous Stance Both modes are really useful Cloudform I think lightform might be better in limited but I think this might stronger in constructed especially if you're playing creature heavy Brutal Hordechief I want a warrior deck to work so bad Monastery mentor, (like jeskai needed the help) Winds of Qal Sisma if you can trigger ferocious you use it on the attack if they block if you're going to trade too much or if they let it through expecting to counter attack you have it nullified. Reality Shift I think the bounce back stuff has hurt it's value but not enough Monastery Siege this could seriously hurt control and the other mode is really useful too Flamewake pheonix
I'm not. For one mana less in one less color you can get Prognostic Sphinx, also 3 power in the air with hexproof. The Doomwake Giant ability will be nice against tokens, but this is obviously intended as a control deck finisher and board wipes in those colors already took care of the tokens before this guy came out. UB Control did not get the finisher it was hoping for.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
This signature holds priority until end of comment.
1)Soulfire grand masterThis is just made for control giving control the ability to achieve a more serious degree of inevitability.
2)Monastery MentorThis is just an overtly powerful card. I dont know if I have much else to say about it otherwise, though.
3)Ugin, the spirit dragon Again, overtly powerful. Incredible board smashing ability against all this grindy midrange goofiness.
4)Dark Deal This seems like a sleeper no one is hitting on. Grinds your opponent, fuels graves and has incredible synergy w/ waste not
5)Crux of FateGiven How bad most dragons in this set are this is just blacks equivalent of end hostilities
6)Soulflayer after testing this in BG constellation, I really fell in love with this. Flying deathtouch indestructible hexproof t4? Yesplz
7)Jeskai Sage Agree he might be modern playable. Cantripping value creature? Sign me up
8)frontier siege devotion....dat ramp doe
9)monastery siegeboth abilities fantastic. Another likley modern playable card
10)Tasigur, the golden fangThis card, while not obviously amazing, feels very strong to me nonetheless.
Are they printing fetches in FRF? Or was that just a rumor going around? Also top card is going to have to be either Monastery Mentor, or Soulfire grand master. Two incredibly powerful cards in my favorite colors? YES!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
*Miracles Bonfire when things were looking quite grim*
I believe I won that game because of pure skill. - David McDarby
Soulfire Grand Master - All I can say is after all this hype, you'd better be as good as we hope, Soulfire!
Cloudform - Once again, this is one of those cards that reward intelligent, skillful play. Which means I don't dare say it's good without everybody screaming at me. Do we all now understand the importance of topdeck awareness and draw manipulation in blue?
Monastery Siege - Even though many people have already spotted this for a good card, I think you'll all be amazed at just how much grief it will cause you when it's across the playmat from you. Note that it also protects Frost Walker, which makes blue the best candidate to use 'ferocious' abilities, such as Stubborn Denial. So now spot removal against blue costs 2 more and is easier to counter as well. Could Master of Waves ride this combo back to the top 8?
Archfiend of Depravity - Since black removal is lacking this Standard, this guy makes the best control strategy finisher. Hoses tokens and trades Siege Rhino.
Gurmag Angler - Yes, he's nothing but a beat-stick. But pound for pound, fatso is actually the most power for the least mana in Standard. Mono-black aggro could run this as its only delve card. This is a huge "maybe" though.
Collateral Damage - Did somebody say Lightning Bolt in Standard? Yeah, OK, you have to sac a token to it. But wait until somebody notices that this and Harness by Force are in the same Standard. RDW is coming back hard, you read it here first.
Wild Slash - Oh, and Shock is back - even strictly better if you want to nitpick. Yeah, RDW, I'm at least testing it.
1. Flamewake Pheonix- Puts the clock on the opponent and avoids Abzan Charm. R/G Aggro and Temur Aggro are going to be gaining power this set.
2. Shaman of the Great Hunt- I still don't think this is a "good" card exactly, but this card has an exact spot in the meta and R/G Aggro with his name on it. He's going to do work.
3. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon- Going to be a Commander favorite, and possibly a game-ender in standard.
4. Crux of Fate- U/B gets its boardwipe, and Sultai gets its end hostilities. Cool enough to warrant inclusion here.
8. Warden of the First Tree- I like this card. A LOT. He has the stats to get the job done, but we'll see if he's figure of destiny 2 or not shortly!
9. Mardu Scout- Awesome card for mono red, if a bit unexciting.
10. Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury- I had to have at least 1 Dragon here Another lightning based dragon that can do quick damage to finish an opponent. It's a hasting 5 damage with an anthem attached. Budget option here for FNM'ers and worth testing in competitive Mardu. My sleeper pick.
Ugin its the best so far in the set, the one to get, the rest its crappy
Good one that path to exile in blue
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern: RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries Legacy:BRx Renimator Playing right now:Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
Here are the cards that I found interesting for my unpowered cube. This set has a surprising high number of really cool cards, so I'm pumped to add or try these cards.
For Sure:
1. Mardu Woe-Reaper - Strict upgrade from Elite Vanguard. He's going in 100%.
2. Monastery Mentor - Powerful card. Helps multiple decks. Strong build around. Perfect cube card. (I go by a rule of twos idea, where if there are two cards that are basically the same, then the strategy is draftable, ie Wildfire/ Burning of Xinye or 'geddon/ravages. MM should help Young Pyro or UW tempo.) (Probably replacing Aven Mindcensor)
3. Soulfire Grand Master - Going in for sure. Great build around, and I've tried to include three color build around cards. Was trying Jeskai Ascendancy, but it never worked. SGM helps that and supports white's two drops which I'm not happy with.
4. Archfiend of Depravity - Right now Black has a stax feel to it, and this goes perfectly with it. Great body to go along with it. Honestly might be replacing Bloodgift Demon because its such a unique effect.
5. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death - Going in. For Sure. Red is getting some really nice niche recursion elements. Can't wait to combine her with Grenzo. (Replacing Magus of the Moon)
6. Warden of the First Tree - Going in. It will do work, but my playgroup will most likely undervalue him. (Replacing Wall of Blossoms)
7. Whisperwood Elemental - Great wrath insurance. Will probably be my only manifest card to make the cut. Can't wait to test it out. Be interesting to see if the manifest abilities are more token generation or insane "card draw" with an upside. (Probably replace Phantom Centaur)
8. Brutal Hordechief - Looks super cool. Will more than likely try it, just not sure if its going to stay. (Will replace Phyrexian Obliterator)
9. Yasova Dragonclaw - Looks solid. Will have to test, but the power gets it up here.
10. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - He's here but will probably not see play unless I just get tired of Karn.
Maybe:
1. Shaman of the Great Hunt - Great engine and is dangerous as hell. Might just not make the cut due to how strong the red 4 drops already are.
2. Mardu Strike Leader - Makes a token. All I can really say, but it might just make it. Probably going to just spot test the Black three drops with this.
3. Cloudform/Lightform - If Manifest is super good these might make it after heavy testing.
4. Flamewake Phoenix - Will have to look at this harder. Chandra's Phoenix is one of my favorite cards. I'm just not 100% if this card's recursion will come up enough.
Monastery Mentor: One of the few cards from this set that I think is obviously powerful. It'll find a home in Tokens for sure.
Soulfire Grand Master: I'm not really on the hype train about this card. That said, I do think it's very good, and will see play for Jeskai Mirrors at the very least.
Atarka, World Render: Dies to Stoke and costs 7. Still... she's one of the few cards in standard right now that threatens to end the game to turn after she comes down. Decks that can take advantage of Sarkhan and Stormbreath Dragon might want to try her somewhere in their 75.
Mardu Woe-Reaper: I don't think it does a super great job at fighting Whip decks, to be honest, but it's still a 2/1 for W with an immediate upside. The problem with this card is if there's a deck in standard that can take advantage of it. At the moment, I'm inclined to say no.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: He's powerful, that's for sure. Still... I'm not sure if this kind of wrath (because that's essentially what his second ability is) is worth 8 mana. His +2 also seems a bit weak to me at that cost as well. Still, he's super splashable, being colorless, so there may be a deck out there that can take advantage.
Flamewake Phoenix: Unless I'm totally mistaken, the last time we saw a Phoenix return itself from the graveyard to the battlefield was Kuldotha Phoenix, which was fringe-playable. Flamewake Phoenix costs less, both to cast and reanimate. The main question riding on this card is "What deck can utilize it?". However, if there is an aggressive deck in standard that can consistently get Ferocious online, this Phoenix is amazing.
Merciless Executioner: This guy does work. Not great against tokens, but I could see it being a 1-2 of in a whip deck.
Cloudform: I'm not the only one who thinks this is crazy, right? And it'll stay on the creature after you turn it face up (if it is a creature) making this insane. I don't think there's really a deck for it right now, but I'm going to say that it'll find a home before it rotates.
Whisperwood Elemental: I don't think it's as good as people think, but it is powerful. The effect is almost token generation, and in some cases is a bit better, and it provides really nice wrath protection.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang: I debated whether to put Tasigur in my top ten list, or in the honorable mentions list. Finally, I decided to go with top ten. He dodges Stoke and blocks pretty much everything relevant in the format besides Stormbreath. His ability is overcosted, but neat. It's probably never getting you back anything too bonkers, but it'll at least get you something. Running him with other delve cards allows you to pick and choose, to an extent, which cards are available for your opponent to choose. I'm not sure if he has a place right now, as I don't know if Whip decks like him much, but he could eventually wind up being played, for sure.
Honorable mentions:
Warden of the First Tree: I'm pretty sure he takes more work than people think, but still a very powerful card. Right now I think Rakshasa Deathdealer and Fleecemane Lion outcompete him for the aggressive slots in Abzan, but once Lion rotates, perhaps he'll be better?
Wildcall: I think this card is actually amazing. The main reason it's not on my top ten list is because I think at the moment, decks that want this would rather have Genesis Hydra instead.
Temur Sabertooth: Instant speed bounce engine in green that can defend itself against removal. 4 power makes it a ferocious enabler as well.
Shaman of the Great Hunt: Two rather powerful effects, but a bit too fragile. With two toughness, it'll be hard to get him to stick and even with his ability, he might only end up drawing you one or two cards, which might be too little. (And yes, I put as many two's, too's, and to's as I could into those sentences.)
Mardu, Jeskai, and Temur Khans: I think all three of these are quite good, but none of them really have a deck, and I'm not sure they will. Of those, Yasova is probably the most likely, because I think if any clan really needs their Khan right now, it's Temur. Alesha doesn't really do anything the current Mardu decks want right now, but perhaps a more aggressive deck could use her. The Jeskai khan is probably the furthest from playable mostly because I think Jeskai is pretty set on what it wants to do at this point, and he doesn't really do anything for either tokens or burn. However, like Narset, he might find some love in EDH.
Mob Rule: Pure EDH card, but this is awesome. The creatures you'll most want to take are going to be 4 power anyway. It's a bigger effect than Mass Mutiny or Molten Primordial, and it's cheaper and more splashable than Insurrection.
Cards I don't think are good that I'm seeing people praise in this thread:
Archfiend of Depravity: This doesn't seem all that great against anything but tokens, and Stoke kills it. Against Abzan, I guess it blocks Seige Rhino and kills it, but it dies in that block, and I'm pretty sure Abzan doesn't really care much about this card anyway. The top decks either don't care about this card, or can kill it easily.
Frontier Siege: I don't think it does enough for a four mana enchantment to be relevant. If I want an ability like this, I think I'd actually rather just run Xenagos, although it's a more fragile ramp effect.
I am surprised that Humble Defector hasn't made it into anyone's list. Not only is the potential for abuse real, and not too difficult to pull off, but even without being abused it seems like it may end up in the right red decks. Card draw is card draw for Red, and rarely does Red get any that doesn't also force a discard as well.
Why is Arcbound getting no love? I think this card has a lot of potential as it can turn a 1/1 chump block into a board wipe. I can see this card as being a game winner in a lot of situation.
The Top X for Legacy might have Monastery Mentor on it for big beats and Cloudform on it for Phyrexian Dreadnought abuse and otherwise be pretty barren, so I may as well do a Top 10 for Modern instead:
Tasigur, the Golden Fang: He's playable on Turn 3 surprisingly often, and he easily costs 1-2 mana mid- to late-game. His ability is rather meh, but any CA wins some games...
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Tron decks like his ability to mop up boards and potentially drop Emrakul on the heads of or draw a fist full of counterspells against everyone who can ignore his -X.
Temporal Trespass: If it weren't for Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time, UR Delver would play this in a heartbeat. Even with Cruise/Dig, UR Delver might make room for it. Taking an extra turn for 3-4 mana is brutal enough. Tack on Prowess pumps and YP tokens from casting TT and Delver starts dominating and coming back from behind.
Soulfire Grand Master:Lifelink should provide a life buffer. Giving burn spells Lifelink should provide a life buffer. The ability should help grind games out against decks that can rip out more life per turn.
Temur Sabertooth: Pod's chock-full of creatures with great ETB abilities, and Sabertooth abuses them quite well. It's also a pretty resilient wall and attacker when it has to be.
Frost Walker: 4 power for 2 mana has to count for something. Assuming Haste shaves a turn off the clock, Spike Jester, a 2-drop 3/1 with Haste, is a 6-turn clock. Frost Walker is a 5-turn clock.
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death: She revives surprisingly many and surprisingly fat Zoo/aggro dudes, so she's an absolute removal magnet against grindy decks. She quickly takes over the moment they run out of removal, though!
Flamewake Phoenix: DredgeVine players might look at this guy as an option. Reanimating it is somewhat situational, but it has rare evasion and it's cheaper to reanimate than Bloodsoaked Champion is.
Monastery Siege: Some decks really need the buffer against Burn and late targeted discard. Some decks also appreciate dig engines. I guess this could get useful.
Special honourable mentions go to Humble Defector for attracting Johnnies and likely being underrated in Kiki Pod and its untap/blink/copy ability farm and Whisperwood Elemental for protecting from board wipes and taking over boards fairly fast...even though it dies to instant-speed removal pretty hard.
Why is Arcbound getting no love? I think this card has a lot of potential as it can turn a 1/1 chump block into a board wipe. I can see this card as being a game winner in a lot of situation.
probably because if you want a board wipe you will play a boardwipe not creatures. I can unly imaging this being useful in combination with deflecting palm and dictate of the twin god though. If you have a shock you can use your opponents creature to dome them for 24.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Check out my Sales 50% OFF everything for the next 48 hours.
Why is Arcbound getting no love? I think this card has a lot of potential as it can turn a 1/1 chump block into a board wipe. I can see this card as being a game winner in a lot of situation.
probably because if you want a board wipe you will play a boardwipe not creatures. I can unly imaging this being useful in combination with deflecting palm and dictate of the twin god though. If you have a shock you can use your opponents creature to dome them for 24.
Honestly, my plan would be just to cast it on a Seeker of the Way. Given the wording on Arcbond you get a life buffer of (X+1)Y, where X is the number of creatures out, and Y is the damage Seeker is taking.
I'm gonna try teching this against GB Constallation and Abzan and see where it gets me.
I go first:
Monastery Mentor Most Potential of all here
Soulfire Grand Master Another Jeskai top-card. Lategame skillz here
Warden of the first Tree If the first form is good enough, then it will be very powerful
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Finaly the Vizedrix at Mythic Rare from KTK can be replaced
Citadel Siege The Khans-mode from this card was very convincing during playtest
Monastery Siege Another flexible card & cheap enough
Atarka, World Render on her own shes a giant attacker, but with more Dragons from DTK her ablity can win the game, after shes on the board.
Dromoka, the Eternal 5 Mana 5/5 Flying in green which reinforces a creature with each Dragon-Attack ? gross d:O
Shaman of the great Hunt i hope Temur sees more play because of this. 2
Brutal Hordechief Maybe Mardu can need this ? Basicaly unblockable
Monastery Mentor
Flamewake Phoenix (this seems better than Chandra's Phoenix to me)
Soulfire Grand Master
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Warden of the First Tree
Jeskai Sage (this card is Modern playable)
Torrent Elemental (slow, but I think this one is being pretty underestimated)
Mardu Woe-Reaper (2 power for W, relevant creature type, extremely relevant upside, etc.)
Frost Walker (I might be alone in this, but I truly think this one has potential)
Honorable Mentions:
Cloudform (could help out blue devotion)
Valorous Stance
Frontier Siege
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
Winds of Qal Sisma
Mardu Scout
Soulflayer
Hero's Blade
Brutal Hordechief
Marang River Prowler
Monastery Siege
Mardu Strike Leader
9. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon (???)
8. Cloudform
7. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
6. Warden of the First Tree
5. Mardu Strike Leader
4. Brutal Hordechief
3. Temporal Trespass (This could certainly be a dud)
2. Soulfire Grand Master (A lot of potential, but not sure if it has a place)
1. Monastery Mentor (This seems like it's obviously the top card of the set)
EDIT: whoops, forgot about Reality Shift. I'd probably put that in at about 5. Valorous Stance is probably top 10-worthy also.
2. Brutal hordechief - a curve-topper that will end games quickly and already has a home in an established deck
3. Warden of the First Tree - small creature that's been lacking in a few decks, excited to see what this card will do
4. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - picked for EDH purposes, this card should see tons of play in multiplayer formats
5. Valorous Stance - amazing utility spell, efficiently costed, and will fit into already well-established decks
6. Wild Slash / Collateral Damage (tie) - new efficiently-costed burn, I think one or both of these will see a lot of standard play
7. Flamewake Phoenix - solid card, a similar iteration did well in a format with fast red decks, which we already have in standard
8. Soulfire Grand Master - very cool looking card, I hope it finds a home in standard
9. Reality Shift - unconditional removal in blue at instant speed, aggressively costed. I think this will be a beating once the meta is established
10. Fruit of the First Tree - My sleeper card, this looks like it will give green stompy decks some longevity
Honorable Mentions:
1. Strong Manifest cards - I haven't tested enough with manifest to determine if it's great, but I think it has potential, and if it is better than I anticipate, the "good" manifest cards will be out of control, chief of which being Cloudform
2. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
3. Silumgar, the Drifting Death (him the most, but these 5cc dragons all seem like they have potential playability)
4. Edit: Forgot Dark Deal
Currently Playing:
Multiplayer EDH Lists (click italics for a link to the thread!)
[Primer] Lord of Tresserhorn - Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do[Primer] Roon of the Hidden Realm - Rhino Blink
5 Color Tribal Guide (Slivers, Atogs, Allies, Spirits)
Also Playing (most decklists can be found on my profile)
MarathGeistKamahlGrenzoBolasThassaGitrog
PiratesZurVial Smasher&ThrasiosYennettJhoira(cEDH)Strix(Pauper)
Legacy: Maverick
Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsUgin, the Spirit Dragon yeah he'll see play, maybe a lot
Monastery Mentor hopefully catches on quicker than Brimaz, and does need decks built around him, but he could win some games
Reality Shift I think this is the most important card in the set and will make U all the more powerful
Warden of the First Tree better than FoD and FoD ruled Magic for a while.
Shaman of the Great Hunt I would love to see this card succeed...seems really good with token strategies. Doesn't need to attack to use it's effect. The card draw is important and a gamewinner.
Seiges Hey remember Commands? Everyone loves options and these cards are full of options.
Mardu Strike Leader hey Brimaz eat your heart out. Good with Chief of the Edge
Soulflayer 2 for a 4/4 trampler or flyer (or better) is never bad
Whisperwood Elemental or some manifest card. It'll be a good mechanic. Get your hurloon minotaurs ready.
Mardu Scout hope you got blockers
Temur Battle Rage I think this card has the potential to make Temur Aggro a real deck
Valorous Stance Both modes are really useful
Cloudform I think lightform might be better in limited but I think this might stronger in constructed especially if you're playing creature heavy
Brutal Hordechief I want a warrior deck to work so bad
Monastery mentor, (like jeskai needed the help)
Winds of Qal Sisma if you can trigger ferocious you use it on the attack if they block if you're going to trade too much or if they let it through expecting to counter attack you have it nullified.
Reality Shift I think the bounce back stuff has hurt it's value but not enough
Monastery Siege this could seriously hurt control and the other mode is really useful too
Flamewake pheonix
White made out the best, followed by red. Green didn't get much in the way of competitive Magic.
I'm not. For one mana less in one less color you can get Prognostic Sphinx, also 3 power in the air with hexproof. The Doomwake Giant ability will be nice against tokens, but this is obviously intended as a control deck finisher and board wipes in those colors already took care of the tokens before this guy came out. UB Control did not get the finisher it was hoping for.
1)Soulfire grand masterThis is just made for control giving control the ability to achieve a more serious degree of inevitability.
2)Monastery MentorThis is just an overtly powerful card. I dont know if I have much else to say about it otherwise, though.
3)Ugin, the spirit dragon Again, overtly powerful. Incredible board smashing ability against all this grindy midrange goofiness.
4)Dark Deal This seems like a sleeper no one is hitting on. Grinds your opponent, fuels graves and has incredible synergy w/ waste not
5)Crux of FateGiven How bad most dragons in this set are this is just blacks equivalent of end hostilities
6)Soulflayer after testing this in BG constellation, I really fell in love with this. Flying deathtouch indestructible hexproof t4? Yesplz
7)Jeskai Sage Agree he might be modern playable. Cantripping value creature? Sign me up
8)frontier siege devotion....dat ramp doe
9)monastery siegeboth abilities fantastic. Another likley modern playable card
10)Tasigur, the golden fangThis card, while not obviously amazing, feels very strong to me nonetheless.
2. Shaman of the Great Hunt- I still don't think this is a "good" card exactly, but this card has an exact spot in the meta and R/G Aggro with his name on it. He's going to do work.
3. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon- Going to be a Commander favorite, and possibly a game-ender in standard.
4. Crux of Fate- U/B gets its boardwipe, and Sultai gets its end hostilities. Cool enough to warrant inclusion here.
5. Soulfire Grandmaster- Gives Jeskai something to win the mirror with.
6. Whisperwood Elemental- Good enough to bring Green Devotion back on the map?
7. Monastery Mentor- Strong Midrange Tokens value card.
8. Warden of the First Tree- I like this card. A LOT. He has the stats to get the job done, but we'll see if he's figure of destiny 2 or not shortly!
9. Mardu Scout- Awesome card for mono red, if a bit unexciting.
10. Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury- I had to have at least 1 Dragon here Another lightning based dragon that can do quick damage to finish an opponent. It's a hasting 5 damage with an anthem attached. Budget option here for FNM'ers and worth testing in competitive Mardu. My sleeper pick.
Good one that path to exile in blue
RW R/W Burn WB B/W TokensXU MonuU Tron // UWX UW Tron
R GoblinsW Soul SistersRWG Small ZooWUR WUR Geist/Control/Kiki-Resto Combo/NahiriUR Splinter Twin (90% Japanese)/ Grixis TwinRUB UR Delver / Grixis Delver UR Blue MoonBWU Ad NauseamWDeath and TaxesRUB Grixis ControlUMerfolksX Affinity RGB Living End UR Storm/PiF Combo RGX R/G TRON GWU Bant Eldrazi BW Eldrazi and Taxes RUBGoryos Vengeance UB Faeries
Legacy:BRx Renimator
Playing right now: Standard: Jeskai Control Modern; GoryosVengeance/UBFaeries/Affinity Legacy: BRx Reanimator Pauper: UR Drake (banned) Commander: Merieke Ri Berit Esper
For Sure:
1. Mardu Woe-Reaper - Strict upgrade from Elite Vanguard. He's going in 100%.
2. Monastery Mentor - Powerful card. Helps multiple decks. Strong build around. Perfect cube card. (I go by a rule of twos idea, where if there are two cards that are basically the same, then the strategy is draftable, ie Wildfire/ Burning of Xinye or 'geddon/ravages. MM should help Young Pyro or UW tempo.) (Probably replacing Aven Mindcensor)
3. Soulfire Grand Master - Going in for sure. Great build around, and I've tried to include three color build around cards. Was trying Jeskai Ascendancy, but it never worked. SGM helps that and supports white's two drops which I'm not happy with.
4. Archfiend of Depravity - Right now Black has a stax feel to it, and this goes perfectly with it. Great body to go along with it. Honestly might be replacing Bloodgift Demon because its such a unique effect.
5. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death - Going in. For Sure. Red is getting some really nice niche recursion elements. Can't wait to combine her with Grenzo. (Replacing Magus of the Moon)
6. Warden of the First Tree - Going in. It will do work, but my playgroup will most likely undervalue him. (Replacing Wall of Blossoms)
7. Whisperwood Elemental - Great wrath insurance. Will probably be my only manifest card to make the cut. Can't wait to test it out. Be interesting to see if the manifest abilities are more token generation or insane "card draw" with an upside. (Probably replace Phantom Centaur)
8. Brutal Hordechief - Looks super cool. Will more than likely try it, just not sure if its going to stay. (Will replace Phyrexian Obliterator)
9. Yasova Dragonclaw - Looks solid. Will have to test, but the power gets it up here.
10. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - He's here but will probably not see play unless I just get tired of Karn.
Maybe:
1. Shaman of the Great Hunt - Great engine and is dangerous as hell. Might just not make the cut due to how strong the red 4 drops already are.
2. Mardu Strike Leader - Makes a token. All I can really say, but it might just make it. Probably going to just spot test the Black three drops with this.
3. Cloudform/Lightform - If Manifest is super good these might make it after heavy testing.
4. Flamewake Phoenix - Will have to look at this harder. Chandra's Phoenix is one of my favorite cards. I'm just not 100% if this card's recursion will come up enough.
Honorable Mention:
Most underrated card - Merciless Executioner. He does work.
Monastery Mentor: One of the few cards from this set that I think is obviously powerful. It'll find a home in Tokens for sure.
Soulfire Grand Master: I'm not really on the hype train about this card. That said, I do think it's very good, and will see play for Jeskai Mirrors at the very least.
Atarka, World Render: Dies to Stoke and costs 7. Still... she's one of the few cards in standard right now that threatens to end the game to turn after she comes down. Decks that can take advantage of Sarkhan and Stormbreath Dragon might want to try her somewhere in their 75.
Mardu Woe-Reaper: I don't think it does a super great job at fighting Whip decks, to be honest, but it's still a 2/1 for W with an immediate upside. The problem with this card is if there's a deck in standard that can take advantage of it. At the moment, I'm inclined to say no.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: He's powerful, that's for sure. Still... I'm not sure if this kind of wrath (because that's essentially what his second ability is) is worth 8 mana. His +2 also seems a bit weak to me at that cost as well. Still, he's super splashable, being colorless, so there may be a deck out there that can take advantage.
Flamewake Phoenix: Unless I'm totally mistaken, the last time we saw a Phoenix return itself from the graveyard to the battlefield was Kuldotha Phoenix, which was fringe-playable. Flamewake Phoenix costs less, both to cast and reanimate. The main question riding on this card is "What deck can utilize it?". However, if there is an aggressive deck in standard that can consistently get Ferocious online, this Phoenix is amazing.
Merciless Executioner: This guy does work. Not great against tokens, but I could see it being a 1-2 of in a whip deck.
Cloudform: I'm not the only one who thinks this is crazy, right? And it'll stay on the creature after you turn it face up (if it is a creature) making this insane. I don't think there's really a deck for it right now, but I'm going to say that it'll find a home before it rotates.
Whisperwood Elemental: I don't think it's as good as people think, but it is powerful. The effect is almost token generation, and in some cases is a bit better, and it provides really nice wrath protection.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang: I debated whether to put Tasigur in my top ten list, or in the honorable mentions list. Finally, I decided to go with top ten. He dodges Stoke and blocks pretty much everything relevant in the format besides Stormbreath. His ability is overcosted, but neat. It's probably never getting you back anything too bonkers, but it'll at least get you something. Running him with other delve cards allows you to pick and choose, to an extent, which cards are available for your opponent to choose. I'm not sure if he has a place right now, as I don't know if Whip decks like him much, but he could eventually wind up being played, for sure.
Honorable mentions:
Warden of the First Tree: I'm pretty sure he takes more work than people think, but still a very powerful card. Right now I think Rakshasa Deathdealer and Fleecemane Lion outcompete him for the aggressive slots in Abzan, but once Lion rotates, perhaps he'll be better?
Wildcall: I think this card is actually amazing. The main reason it's not on my top ten list is because I think at the moment, decks that want this would rather have Genesis Hydra instead.
Temur Sabertooth: Instant speed bounce engine in green that can defend itself against removal. 4 power makes it a ferocious enabler as well.
Shaman of the Great Hunt: Two rather powerful effects, but a bit too fragile. With two toughness, it'll be hard to get him to stick and even with his ability, he might only end up drawing you one or two cards, which might be too little. (And yes, I put as many two's, too's, and to's as I could into those sentences.)
Mardu, Jeskai, and Temur Khans: I think all three of these are quite good, but none of them really have a deck, and I'm not sure they will. Of those, Yasova is probably the most likely, because I think if any clan really needs their Khan right now, it's Temur. Alesha doesn't really do anything the current Mardu decks want right now, but perhaps a more aggressive deck could use her. The Jeskai khan is probably the furthest from playable mostly because I think Jeskai is pretty set on what it wants to do at this point, and he doesn't really do anything for either tokens or burn. However, like Narset, he might find some love in EDH.
Mob Rule: Pure EDH card, but this is awesome. The creatures you'll most want to take are going to be 4 power anyway. It's a bigger effect than Mass Mutiny or Molten Primordial, and it's cheaper and more splashable than Insurrection.
Cards I don't think are good that I'm seeing people praise in this thread:
Archfiend of Depravity: This doesn't seem all that great against anything but tokens, and Stoke kills it. Against Abzan, I guess it blocks Seige Rhino and kills it, but it dies in that block, and I'm pretty sure Abzan doesn't really care much about this card anyway. The top decks either don't care about this card, or can kill it easily.
Frontier Siege: I don't think it does enough for a four mana enchantment to be relevant. If I want an ability like this, I think I'd actually rather just run Xenagos, although it's a more fragile ramp effect.
WUBRGCommander Decklists - PaperWUBRG
CCCCCommander Decklists - TheorycraftCCCC
Sig Credit: Pegasus Bishop
Honorable mentions:
the rest are pretty meh
tbh shy yun is probably garbage too but i have high hopes
10. Mardu Woe-Reaper
09. Citadel Siege
08. Tasigur, Golden Fang
07. Valarous Stance
06. Outpost Siege
05. Warden of the First Tree
04. Wildslash
03. Whisperwood Elemental
02. Crux of Fate
01. Monastery Mentor
BGU Control
R Aggro
Standard - For Fun
BG Auras
WUBRGWBGURW
UBRGWURWBGU
BRGWUBGURWB
RGWUBRWBGUR
GWUBRGURWBG
2. Soulfire Grand Master
3. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
4. Brutal Hordechief
5. Wild Slash
6. Warden of the First Tree
7. Whisperwood Elemental
8. Valorous Stance
9. Crux of Fate
10.Tasigur, the Golden Fang
N/A
Modern:
Grishoalbrand / Grixis Death's Shadow / Jeskai Control / UW Control
The only net decking I do involves the Home Depot
Honestly, my plan would be just to cast it on a Seeker of the Way. Given the wording on Arcbond you get a life buffer of (X+1)Y, where X is the number of creatures out, and Y is the damage Seeker is taking.
I'm gonna try teching this against GB Constallation and Abzan and see where it gets me.
Standard:
UR Ral Combo
Modern:
U Merfolk
R Goblins
Commander
RB Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
R Feldon of the Third Path