We've made it half way so I wanted to create a poll of which rare will see the most play. I'm including my top ten and then an other category, so if you choose other please include a comment of what you would choose and why. (I'm also not including the lands because they are obviously going to be played in any deck with that color scheme.)
Declaration in Stone is a card I think everyone that runs white will have in the deck, it's just too efficient and powerful for such a low cost, sure it has a drawback, but even better cards like Path or Sword have drawbacks, and this can deal with so many stuff, like hangarbacks, raptors, stopping protector chains, etc. From the cards in the pool I think Arlinn Kord seems the most powerful, but if it will see play it depends if there is a good RG archetype out there.
Declaration in Stone would have been a good one to add, I agree. In reality I chose to include Anguished Unmaking instead since it is a catch all and is also a downside that is tolerable. The extra mana and also the black does restrict it some, so I think you would be right to say Declaration in Stone is probably going to see more play.
Interesting opinion. I agree that white looks very powerful in the new set, but I'm not sure we can agree that Thing is a bad card. Archangel needs just as much of a build around to flip it and in U/x it will flip very often and be a 7/8 for 2 mana. Sylvan advocate is a 4/5 for 2 that sees a lot of play and this reminds me of how people thought flip jace was bad because it would take too long to flip, but he's now viewed as one of WOTC's biggest mistakes.
Strictly speaking, some of the cards on the list aren't Rares, but I digress. In any case, the most played rare in standard will almost certainly be one of the rare mana fixing lands, because, that is how standard works. Beyond that, this set seems to have a ton of playable cards, and their actual playability will depend on whether the deck comes together.
Regarding TITI, the card is okay. It won't be dominating standard though because Reflector mage laughs at it, and it's only an okay card to begin with. Comparisons to Avacyn and Jace are actually ridiculous.
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Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
- Manite
I'm primarily a Limited player, so take this with a grain of salt, but Thing in the Ice has all the makings of a monumentally overhyped card. I expect it to see a ton of play followed by a precipitous drop as the best-case scenario thinking gets exposed, and then a slow fading away among its die-hard fans.
So, after initially jumping on the hype train for Thing in the Ice, I have cooled on it, for now. Some SST I have been working on is finding a way to maximize it for free, and I have something. I present you Renegade Doppleganger and Cryptoplasm. They both copy a creature already on the field, without the counters, making them a single spell away from flipping and not touching your board state at all. It's janky, for now, but I'm brewing hard on it. It's basically the same principle as copying Dark Depths with Vesuva or Thespians Stage. In theory, you'd want a turn 1 Doppleganger followed by a turn 2 TitI, which requires some sort of non-land acceleration like Simian Spirit Guide. I also want to try a shell with Collected Company to spit these out EOOT, copy either right away or on the upkeep, then flip one, or potentially both, on your following turn. It would need to be coupled with other value creatures that don't rely on ETB triggers to prevent blowouts, but again, a WIP.
That interaction doesn't actually work. The rules state clearly that if a non-DFC card would attempt to transform, it doesn't.
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Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
- Manite
Declaration has been mentioned above and I have to agree that it should have been on the poll. It's also very splashible so it could see play in decks that don't really have any place run it. But the deck I'm most excited about is u/w control with avacyn at the top of the curve for a thing in the ice shell and I think that declaration is definitely a playset in that deck.
Thing in the Ice. I don`t know a lot about Standard, but people will try to use it in Modern and Legacy. Will it meet people`s expectations? We`ll see. But it will see a lot of play while people figure it out.
Arlinn Kord will see play as a 1-of in certain Modern decks. I can`t wait to give her a spin in Jund, and I can also see her in Big Zoo. Again, we`ll see if she meets delivers, but she will be testet rigorously.
I can`t imagine that Avacyn won`t see a lot of play in Standard. Then again, as I wrote, I`m not the one to ask about Standard.
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When I hit my 3000 post mark, I'm gone for good.
Stay reasonable, be mindful of your expectations and don't feed the trolls.
Declaration has been mentioned above and I have to agree that it should have been on the poll. It's also very splashible so it could see play in decks that don't really have any place run it. But the deck I'm most excited about is u/w control with avacyn at the top of the curve for a thing in the ice shell and I think that declaration is definitely a playset in that deck.
I'm pretty sure TITI will fall out of favor soon. People will probably switch to more consistent win conditions.
Standard only, I'm going with Mindwrack Demon. It's a beefy, efficient body with a downside that is easily worked around (And feeds the graveyard). I expect a large number of decks running black to be running some number of it. A 4/5 flying trampler for 4 is very much ahead of the curve, and while it's not the damn Rhino it's still a major threat.
Other than that, I don't see much that isn't specific to a single deck, and quite a few that may see a significant amount of play depending on how easy it is to create upside with them (Traverse the Uvenwald specifically). A whole lot of other will be 1-2 ofs (Arlin Kord, Sorin, etc).
A great deal in the set looks quite playable, but there are fewer Jace, Vryn's Prodigies and more strong context specific cards. Which is a good thing, honestly. It's not BFZ, which was just utter trash through and through. More along the lines of "This card will see play in this specific deck; this card in a different deck", etc and so forth.
I really like Thalia's Lieutenant but that's just the Soul Sister in me. I want to make an Abzan/CoCo list with it in there. Might be T2 or at least on par with Merfolk? Could keep it G/W but B adds a lot and is easy to obtain in Modern (thanks Urborg)
"If fetch lands are reprinted I really believe they will be in allied colors (aka Onslaught fetches). If the fetch lands are reprinted you better believe that we'll all be fetching up basics. This would lead me to believe that the set after THS may have a reprint as the temples can't be fetched but it's pure speculation." - posted 03/22/2014 proved correct during Khans spoiler season.
"The set releases for fall 2015 (Blood, Sweat and Tears) and fall 2016 (Lock, Stock and Barrel). One or both of those 2 blocks (I'm betting) are going to contain either Fetch reprints or (more likely) Filter reprints. Filter lands still need a reprint. They are getting pretty high up there and it's been longer than ZEN so it makes a little more sense that Filter lands would see print earlier that fetches." - posted 03/22/2014 proved incorrect about filters coming earlier than fetches, still pending on filters in Origins block.
Most of the other cards will probably just be dabbled in at the beginning of the standard season, until the format is figured out.
Strictly standard speaking, I think anguished unmaking and epiphany at the drownyard will see a lot of long term play too.
Regarding TITI, the card is okay. It won't be dominating standard though because Reflector mage laughs at it, and it's only an okay card to begin with. Comparisons to Avacyn and Jace are actually ridiculous.
- Manite
That interaction doesn't actually work. The rules state clearly that if a non-DFC card would attempt to transform, it doesn't.
- Manite
Arlinn Kord will see play as a 1-of in certain Modern decks. I can`t wait to give her a spin in Jund, and I can also see her in Big Zoo. Again, we`ll see if she meets delivers, but she will be testet rigorously.
I can`t imagine that Avacyn won`t see a lot of play in Standard. Then again, as I wrote, I`m not the one to ask about Standard.
Stay reasonable, be mindful of your expectations and don't feed the trolls.
Doomsdayin'
I'm pretty sure TITI will fall out of favor soon. People will probably switch to more consistent win conditions.
(Because I can't wait to crush all the bad Thing decks we'll be seeing in modern)
Other than that, I don't see much that isn't specific to a single deck, and quite a few that may see a significant amount of play depending on how easy it is to create upside with them (Traverse the Uvenwald specifically). A whole lot of other will be 1-2 ofs (Arlin Kord, Sorin, etc).
A great deal in the set looks quite playable, but there are fewer Jace, Vryn's Prodigies and more strong context specific cards. Which is a good thing, honestly. It's not BFZ, which was just utter trash through and through. More along the lines of "This card will see play in this specific deck; this card in a different deck", etc and so forth.
"The set releases for fall 2015 (Blood, Sweat and Tears) and fall 2016 (Lock, Stock and Barrel). One or both of those 2 blocks (I'm betting) are going to contain either Fetch reprints or (more likely) Filter reprints. Filter lands still need a reprint. They are getting pretty high up there and it's been longer than ZEN so it makes a little more sense that Filter lands would see print earlier that fetches." - posted 03/22/2014 proved incorrect about filters coming earlier than fetches, still pending on filters in Origins block.