MTG Salvation

The usual Survey takes place

For my the big standouts are

Chandra, Torch of Defiance
& Smugglers Copter

Maybe ist because of their obvious Power-legal.

What are you most hyped about ?

Honestly as a casual/EDH player, I'm not very excited

Metallurgic Summonings and Demon of Dark Schemes are pretty cool, and I like the flexibility of Saheeli's Artistry, Insidious Will and Fateful Showdown.

But seriously I think the best card in the set is Filigree Familiar.

Metallurgic Summonings
Filigree Familiar
Ceremonious Rejection
And the grixis colored gearhulks.

Personal favorites: Authority of the Consuls, Cataclysmic Gearhulk, Deadlock Trap, Dovin Baan, Filigree Familiar, Fumigate, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Smuggler's Copter, Syndicate Trafficker, Torrential Gearhulk.

New Chandra is obviously the chasest card. It's not a question of if a deck can use her, but how many. Red looks very strong in Kaladesh and I don't think anybody can predict the price ceiling for good red cards in Standard at this point.

All of the Gearhulks are great and I'd be shocked if none or only one of them took off. My guess is that Torrential Gearhulk and Verdurous Gearhulk both feature in top-tier builds while they're Standard-legal. The black and red Gearhulks look awesome but I doubt they'll find homes outside of EDH. The white Gearhulk has an X-factor to it, so I wouldn't rule it out just because it's unconventional. A dark horse MWC control build could emerge that really uses it.

The new duals are obviously good, will be played.

I think Lost Legacy could be a thing.

Fateful Showdown and Lathnu Hellion wouldn't normally trip my sensors, but I suspect either might soar with the rising tide of red.

Deadlock Trap is probably the best energy outlet in the set and just smells like a key metagame card to me. It has that "development spent a lot of time getting me right" vibe to it.

Quote from Sanity_Cleaver »

But seriously I think the best card in the set is Filigree Familiar.

I'm inclined to agree with you there. Card's really good and is going to make things difficult for aggro in standard (if Authority of the Consuls didn't do that well enough already). I also think Glimmer of Genius is really good. It's been a while since control had a decent instant-speed draw spell and it goes quite nicely with Anticipate.

I also think Dovin Baan is being seriously overlooked, largely just because of all the Chandra hype. I know the card doesn't do anything terribly new or exciting, but it still seems really strong. Glint-nest Crane, Ceremonious Rejection and Inventors' Fair also seem like very powerful cards to me.

Everyone all excited about vehicles and gearhulks and chandra's and all I can see in this set is a control deck >.<

Quote from skraz1265 »

Everyone all excited about vehicles and gearhulks and chandra's and all I can see in this set is a control deck >.<

At least one of those Gearhulks is an amazing control card, though.

Quote from Guesswork »

Quote from skraz1265 »

Everyone all excited about vehicles and gearhulks and chandra's and all I can see in this set is a control deck >.<

At least one of those Gearhulks is an amazing control card, though.

I think you are underselling the black gearhulk. Especially with the amount of playable flicker we have in Esper colors. Repeatable removal that also gain you life is never a bad thing.

Madcap Experiment looks like a "Brewer's Paradise" card. Run it with 4 Platinum Angel and 4 Blighsteel Colossus and you're in for a treat.

Also, Ceremonious Rejection seems like its the 200th way to counter Black Lotus for 1 mana(we already have Nix), and Fragmentize I could see being a sideboard artifact hate card in White decks, seeing how it kills just about every artifact in Modern.

Favorite Cards: Filigree Familiar & Nature's Way

• Combustible Gearhulk
  
• Verdurous Gearhulk
  
• Aetherflux Reservoir
  
• Fleetwheel Cruiser
  
• Panharmonicon
  
• Nissa, Vital Force
  
• Insidious Will
  

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Guesswork »

Quote from skraz1265 »

Everyone all excited about vehicles and gearhulks and chandra's and all I can see in this set is a control deck >.<

At least one of those Gearhulks is an amazing control card, though.

I think you are underselling the black gearhulk. Especially with the amount of playable flicker we have in Esper colors. Repeatable removal that also gain you life is never a bad thing.

I did say at least one.

The more I evaluate the set, the more I like the black one. It could be a sleeper. But if I'm making odds on one breaking out, the blue one definitely has the best odds, IMO.

Quote from Guesswork »

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Guesswork »

Quote from skraz1265 »

Everyone all excited about vehicles and gearhulks and chandra's and all I can see in this set is a control deck >.<

At least one of those Gearhulks is an amazing control card, though.

I think you are underselling the black gearhulk. Especially with the amount of playable flicker we have in Esper colors. Repeatable removal that also gain you life is never a bad thing.

I did say at least one.

The more I evaluate the set, the more I like the black one. It could be a sleeper. But if I'm making odds on one breaking out, the blue one definitely has the best odds, IMO.

Why do you think that? I can't really think of anything amazing for the blue one to do. It seems like, in the best case scenario, it's going to be a big Mystic Snake, but only if you already have a counterspell in the yard. If there isn't a counterspell in the yard, Goblin Dark-Dwellers just does it's job a turn earlier and has evasion to boot. It could be great, but not being able to hit sorceries in a format where most of the best removal is on sorceries and the counterspells are underpowered hurts it quite a lot, I think. If it had some way to protect itself it would absolutely be a control staple, but that's unfortunately not the case.

Quote from skraz1265 »

Why do you think that? I can't really think of anything amazing for the blue one to do. It seems like, in the best case scenario, it's going to be a big Mystic Snake, but only if you already have a counterspell in the yard. If there isn't a counterspell in the yard, Goblin Dark-Dwellers just does it's job a turn earlier and has evasion to boot. It could be great, but not being able to hit sorceries in a format where most of the best removal is on sorceries and the counterspells are underpowered hurts it quite a lot, I think. If it had some way to protect itself it would absolutely be a control staple, but that's unfortunately not the case.

Well, it fits into a control build. Doesn't that count as protecting itself?

You're right, of course, the counterspells in this environment aren't great. Or, to be more specific, there aren't any 1- or 2-mana killer app counterspells, which is usually the hallmark of an environment with "good" countermagic. But that's not really the limiting factor for this card. The limiting factor is simply having some kind of counterspell (or good instant of any kind) in the yard by the time you're ready to cast it. So I think you're looking at control builds that are doing something else in the very early game besides throwing counters, but lean into countermagic midgame. And with stuff like Authority of the Consuls, I don't think it's unreasonable to imagine a decent control build that opens with something besides counters, yet will still have plenty of counters for the Gearhulk to sling when all is said and done.

Anyway, if you just told me, "Big Mystic Snake", I'd still say it was good.

I can't be the only one who thinks Cataclysmic Gearhulk is the best card of the set? (for standard anyway) Dovin Baan is also terribly underrated. Aside from being multicolored I would say he's better than chandra. Chandra is still very good, but I think people are overestimating her first +1. Not helping you hit land drops is a pretty big deal and her minus is garbage. Toolcraft Exemplar, Filigree Familiar, Blossoming Defense, and Voltaic Brawler are all exceptional and have a good chance at modern play. I also believe Essence Extraction Harsh Scrutiny Harnessed Lightning Unlicensed Disintegration will be a huge boost to removal. Skyship Stalker, Nissa, Vital Force,
Fleetwheel Cruiser and Scrapheap Scrounger are honorable mentions.

I really like the land cycle, but Chandra is good too. When it first was spoiled, I thought 4 CMC, 4 abilities... JTMS! But I don't think it's anywhere near the power level of Jace.

Filigree Familiar is cool for maybe Temurge, and maybe Modern?

I think this set definitely has some good EDH playables, like Authority of the Consuls and Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter could be a good addition to Rhys or standalone. Panharmonicon looks great and fun, too.

Could Perpetual Timepiece be good in Standard?

All the standards, walkers especially Chandra, Smuggler's Copter, Gearhulks, enemy fast lands and of course Filigree Familiar.

The card with the most potential in eternal formats though is Authority of the Consuls. Sure to become a common sideboard for white decks in modern/legacy and a good silver bullet to fetch with Enlightened Tutor too. Slowing hasty attacks including combo based ones (Sneak Attack, dredge and Legendary Reanimator Spring to mind) as well as gaining heaps of life against swarm/token decks is a very potent combo on a 1cc enchantment.

Pashri is sorta meh in Rhys, where at least I run a bunch of Scion of the Wild-type creatures anyway. Reki, however, is pleased and Zada got some new draw power. Also, proliferate decks are ecstatic.

For killing aggro in Standard:

• Authority of the Consuls
  
• Fumigate
  
• Filigree Familiar

(though I still miss Nyx-Fleece Ram)


For EDH:

• Insidious Will
  
• Panharmonicon
  
• Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
  
• Saheeli's Artistry
  
• Merallurgic Summonings
  
• Confiscation Coup
  
• Aethersquall Ancient
  
• Refurbish
  
• Demon of Dark Schemes
  
• Gonti, Lord of Luxury
  
• Hijack
  
• Cloudblazer
  
• Empyrial Voyager
  
• Aetherflux Reservoir
  
• Aetherflux Marvel
  
• Animation Module
  
• Metalwork Colossus
  

Animation Module, Aetherstorm Roc (Hanweir Garrison), Dovin Baan, Aetherflux Reservoir (At least in Sydri EDH seems broken )all seem prety playable in standard

Here's all the new cards I think will see at least fringe play in Modern (the best cards are on top):

• Enemy fast lands (Blooming Marsh et al): We've been wanting these for years. Of course they will see play. The allied fast lands are pretty popular in Modern, after all.
• Madcap Experiment: Hello, 4-mana Platinum Emperion! Sure, you can't play any other artifacts unless you're willing to board out the package, but Platinum Emperion (with no life loss) should shore up some decks' aggro match-ups (such as Grixis Midrange). In aggressive decks like Medium Naya Zoo, the hoser ability may also buy enough time to win against combo. Other combos involving Madcap Experiment are possible, but they're definitely harder to build around.
• Chandra, Torch of Defiance: Likely the best planeswalker in the set, and likely the best Chandra ever printed, this new walker can damage the turn she ETB, ramp, quasi-draw cards, kill creatures, and more. Counterspell-playing decks may have a tough time accepting her, but other decks may want to slot her in.
• Kambal, Consul of Allocation: He's like a one-sided Eidolon of the Great Revel who gains life to boot and is in better hate bear colours.
• Scrapheap Scrounger: Affinity's sick and tired of board wipes, and this helps Affinity bounce back hard from them. Dredge and random aggressive decks might want it, too.
• Cataclysmic Gearhulk: Possibly more of a sideboard card than anything...but a dang good sideboard card. This Gearhulk is likely at its best in midrange, where it'll often leave its owner with 2 creatures and its opponent with 1. Please be aware that it won't work as well against Affinity as you might hope.
• Bomat Courier: In testing, it either lured removal or netted 2 or more cards. Pretty good for an aggro 1-drop. I predict it'll see the most play in Affinity and Small Naya Zoo (both decks dump their hands pretty fast).
• Gonti, Lord of Luxury: He has a tendency to find cards in opposing decks that save your butt, close out the game, or possibly cripple combo decks' game plans.
• Blossoming Defense: Pump that dodges Spellskite and grants Hexproof is pretty good for Infect and possibly good for other decks.
• Lost Legacy: In a format where the aggro decks try to kill on Turn 4 and the combo decks have to outspeed or greatly slow down aggro, a 3-mana Memoricide is far better than a 4-mana one. Exiling 4 Eternal Scourges is a plus.
• Filigree Familiar: Those people who have Peace Strider in their sideboards can finally take them out and replace them with this.
• Essence Extraction: Another source of life gain-on-removal for Grixis and other part-black decks is welcome.
• Metallurgic Summonings: A nice grindy card for sideboards of instant- and sorcery-happy decks.
• Glint-Nest Crane: Artifact-heavy decks appreciate a nigh-Impulse with legs. Affinity may like the fact that this artifact grabber has legs.
• Inventors' Fair: It may be restricted to Lantern Control as a home, but gosh, recouping life loss from Thoughtseize and then searching for any artifact is going to get useful.
• Ceremonious Rejection: Stuffing it to Affinity, Eldrazi, and Tron once already isn't a bad deal.
• Cathartic Reunion: While an additional cost of two cards is probably too steep for most combo decks, especially after this gets hit by counterspells, Dredge will have a field day with this card.
• Torrential Gearhulk: Quite possibly one of the best finishers in draw-go control decks, as it has Flash, a big body, and a heck of a disruptive ability. Through the Breach decks may also like it because it can be cheated in during the same turn as Emrakul--just cheat it in with the first Breach, then make it cast Breach for free, then cheat in Emrakul. Bam, 20 power.
• Hijack: There are still people who put Act of Treason effects in their sideboard, and borrowing stuff like Vedalken Shackles and Cranial Plating can get useful.
• Confiscation Coup: It can gain control of likely 4/5 of Modern's entire creature base by itself. Imagine making Snapcaster Mage flash this back.
• Smuggler's Copter: Affinity just might be in the business of a Vehicle with Flying, 3 power, Crew 1, and a surprisingly awesome loot ability.
• Dynavolt Tower: Just might get useful in I/S-heavy decks. Being able to kill creatures is great.
• Voltaic Brawler: A guaranteed 4 power for 2 mana (for long enough) just might get useful in Zoo decks.
• Aether Hub: Goodbye, Tendo Ice Bridge.
• Sequestered Stash: Self-mill and putting artifacts on top of your deck might get useful some day. Competes with Buried Ruin, though.
• Dubious Challenge: Perhaps Congregation at Dawn (for Emrakul and Flickerwisp or Glimmerpoint Stag) into this isn't so bad after all.
• Saheeli Rai: ...Only if someone can nigh-break her. Not being able to protect herself is fairly bad.

Dubious Challenge; I can see it becoming crazy good in the future. You have to plan around it, but it can get you two creatures for 3G.

Dubious challenge has to flip over actively bad creatures for your opponent to not take one of them. I think the card is one of the worst rares ever printed and pure EDH fodder as a means of politics there.

Metalwork colossus is my pick for sleeper of the set. Recursion and a very cheap fatty to boot. Fatty is an understatement. It will at least put in work in vintage workshop decks I'd wager as casting it shouldn't be all that hard and it recurs. Inventor's fair will likely be abused in vintage as well in workshop decks despite not being activated by workshops itself being a tutor for any card in your deck is pretty powerful once your hand is emptied of lock pieces. Goes hand in hand with metalwork colossus as well, letting you tutor for it when you're ready to deploy the beats.

Ceremonious rejection is my pick for best card in the set. 1 mana for a hard slightly conditional counter is insanely good when it can counter anything from metalwork colossus to black lotus to thought-knot seer.

My favorite 10:
1. Filigree Familiar
2. Glimmer of Genius
3. Aether Hub
4. Cathartic Reunion
5. Unlicensed Disintegration
6. Ceremonious Rejection
7. Fumigate
8. Skywhaler's Shot
9. Harnessed Lightning
10. Smuggler's Copter

As you can see, I love the uncommons in this set. Cloudblazer almost made my list, but I'm not sure if it's actually good enough for constructed or not.

There are some cards (Chandra, Nissa, Gearhulks, etc.) that are absurd magic cards and would be high on a "best" list, but I don't consider them favorites. They're just bluntly powerful.

My favourite card in the set is by far Skysovereign, Consul Flagship. The crew ability seems super fun, and the power level on this card is extroardinary. Bolting a creature/walker everytime it attacks? Incredible.