Introductions and Explanations
Greetings fellow multiplayer enthusiasts! My name is Prid3 and I'm a 15+ year veteran of the game who's been playing Magic: the Gathering since the year 2000. While I've followed and played the game at a competitive-level across every major duel format the bulk of my personal playtime has been spent at kitchen tables duking it out in large multiplayer matches. Be it Cube, Constructed or EDH I've played tens of thousands of hours of multiplayer Magic in my life and have since made it my goal to impart some of that knowledge and experience on to you. As such this set review is solely focused towards the multiplayer crowd with an emphasis on budget-minded, fair Magic that adheres to a Legacy-esque banned/restricted list. While I'll still touch on degenerate combos and unfair applications I understand that not everyone takes the game as seriously as my own circles and as such I try to balance my reviews to ensure that they're applicable to players of all levels. From turn 1 kills to turn 20 slugfests I'll do my best to keep these relevant for anyone and everyone who routinely sits down at a multiplayer table.
Before moving on I'll quickly touch on some important book-keeping notes that you should be made aware of before delving deeper into this set review. First, know that I never evaluate every single card in a new set. There's absolutely no reason to repeat "this card was designed for duel formats/Limited" hundreds of times so don't expect me to touch on chaff. I'll hit on what I consider to be the key multiplayer cards with an emphasis on the ones that you should make a concerted effort to acquire. Moreover, bear in mind that all ratings discussed in this evaluation should be taken with a grain of salt. It's virtually impossible to give a card a grade that accurately reflects its worth in Cube, Constructed and EDH and so for the purposes of this guide I slant it mostly towards Constructed. I'll touch on Cube and EDH whenever I feel that it's especially applicable but otherwise my primary emphasis will be on a card's 60-card Constructed applications. Finally, I'm not looking to pin down the perfect letter grade for every single card. I'm merely trying to provide you with a rough estimation of its overall worth.
Grading Scale: A: Oppressive cards that completely warp the game around them. These are format definers that figure to dominate games in which they're left unchecked and crush adversaries who aren't employing similarly powered strategies. This makes them must-have competitive staples with limitless potential. Think Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Humility, Consecrated Sphinx, Sylvan Primordial, Repercussion. B: Extremely formidable cards that will allow you to pull ahead of the pack. Winning decks should be clamoring to field them as they figure to significantly improve your overall win %. This makes them top-priority acquisition targets for players of all skill-levels. Think Syphon Mind, Earthquake, Wrath of God, Rite of Replication, Woodland Bellower. C: Powerful cards that winning decks will want to play. A list full of C's won't crush a table but a solid foundation of them should be good enough to keep you competitive. Think Wight of Precinct Six, Clever Impersonator, Taurean Mauler, Thragtusk, Restoration Angel. D: Marginal playables with which to flesh out your lists in the absence of reasonable alternatives. I strongly encourage that you to enlist substitutes if it's a realistic option since they're unlikely to yield impressive win %s. F: Weak cards that wouldn't be played in an ideal world. Niche: Immensely powerful-yet-narrow cards that are Bs/As in decks that actively want them and Ds/Fs everywhere else. Sideboard: Stupendously powerful cards that you wouldn't maindeck against unknown adversaries but that have competitive applications in known metagames with defined threats. +/-: Used to denote a better or worse N. That is, a B+ represents a strong B whereas C- implies a weak C.
Audio Set Review: Link to Playlist This is my second audio set review ever and the first in over a year so it will probably be a bit rough. Please bear with me while I get the kinks worked out :).
Colorless
Decimator of the Provinces: As someone who's played against countless Craterhoof Behemoths in Cube, Constructed and EDH this strikes me as a total bomb that could see play in any number of Elf-ball/ramp/token archetypes. While the porker here is clearly a full tier below the Hoof-father his Overrun trigger is uncounterable and Emergence will be a reasonable upside a significant % of the time. This is especially evident when pairing him with creatures such as Noosegraf Mob, Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and Avenger of Zendikar as curving one of those into a Decimator + Beastmaster Ascension is going to end most games on the spot. Obviously the "on cast" trigger is significantly less abusable than Craterhoof Behemoth's since you can't effectively cheat the Decimator into play via cards such as Natural Order, Defense of the Heart and Tooth and Nail. +2/+2 is also strictly worse than what the Hoof-father provides (don't even humor arguments suggesting otherwise) and so the card is clearly a step below its predecessor. That being said insofar as your deck curves mana elves/tokens into Battlecruiser finishers then this is exactly where you want to be.
Grade B
Emrakul, the Promised End: "Target player loses the game" is a solid starting point for any card and the fact that it comes on a 13/13 evasive beater for as little as 5 mana is enough to entice even the harshest critics. This is especially true in formats such as 2HG where you realistically can't beat this card. Yes my friends, you do indeed control both turns. Yikes! Otherwise multiplayer formats tend to be characterized by board stalls, combo kills, mass removal, etc. and this is where cards like Emrakul shine. After all, she can force your opponents to waste their combo cards, chump attack their creatures into larger blockers, blow their removal/counters on their own spells, on and on and on. Obviously they'll get a Time Walk shortly thereafter but that will frequently be too little too late to make a difference. It's also important to note that her Mindslaver is an on-cast trigger which means that it still goes through even if Emmy herself gets countered. This makes her especially relevant vs combo and control decks who would still need a Stifle effect to avoid being Slaver'd out of the game. Moreover, she's the first creature-based Mindslaver which is relevant in a world of revival and recursion. Obviously you still have to cast her to get the trigger but the idea here is that you can pair her with something like Oversold Cemetery to continually steal turns. Otherwise she's a decent Reanimator target that dodges spot removal such as Swords to Plowshares and Doom Blade. She still goes down to a Wrath of God but depending on the interaction played in your meta that might not be a serious concern. Lastly, it's important to note that she's not really a 13 drop since you can reasonably cast her for around 8 in decks designed to support her. I'm not going to assume that most decks are going to have Tribal cards and you're probably not going to bin Planeswalkers, Artifacts and Enchantments every game but Land, Creature, Instant and Sorcery are all reasonable and you only need one more to bring her down to 8. Clearly her cost can be reduced to 5 under ideal scenarios and that will occur some % of the time but even if you think of her as a 7-8 drop that's still a reasonable average use-case.
Grade C
Eternal Scourge: This is the second Food Chain engine combo that we've seen thusfar (Misthollow Griffin being the other) and the fact that this one is both cheaper and colorless opens up many new deckbuilding possibilities. Clearly the idea here is to use Food Chain to exile and re-cast Eternal Scourge ad nauseam (netting 1 mana each iteration) and ultimately winning the game by chaining things like Fierce Empath into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or even using Goblin Recruiters, Goblin Matrons, Goblin Ringleaders to dump your library into play. You get the idea anyways. Whereas Elf/Goblin/etc. Food Chain decks can't afford to support a 4 CMC UU creature they can cast Eternal Scourge which is where the real excitement begins. Now you can employ powerful creature-based synergies to win fair games while still having backdoor outs to a one-two knockout punch that generates infinite mana (and hopefully an automatic win as a result). Otherwise Eternal Scourge "dodges" all spot removal, has immense synergy with Delve, makes Manipulate Fate insane, on and on and on. Clearly you would never play it as a generic 3 CMC threat but the Food Chain interaction alone is enough to make this a competitive playable. If you have no intention of acquiring Food Chain then it's basically an F so don't bother acquiring it but the card is bonkers if you're actively trying to break it.
Grade A/Niche
Vexing Scuttler: Given that this is the first colorless Archaeomancer ever printed it's conceivable that certain Black/White strategies could somehow employ it to use. One example is Oversold Cemetery which could abuse it to "infinitely" recur a card like Rise of the Dark Realms. Clearly you have to cast the Scuttler which immediately kills any and all "Living Death" style combos but insofar as you're recurring it to your hand then it'll work just fine. That being said you still have to pay mana cast said spell and since we're not talking about 12+ mana combos I can't imagine it ever finding a competitive home. Even in Cloudpost decks that still seems ambitious at best.
Otherwise I frequently promote synergies such as Archaeomancer/Mnemonic Wall + Whelming Wave/Evacuation/Crush of Tentacles in Big Blue Cloudpost archetypes and this is arguably a potential new addition to the archetype. At 8 CMC you're not exactly getting a discount but the body is sizable and it effectively utilizes the mass colorless mana that cards like Cloudpost produce. Ultimately I don't expect this to make the cut over Mnemonic Wall in the "best versions" of the deck but it's not unreasonable to swap in some Vexing Scuttlers if you're looking to jam some better blockers into your lists.
Grade F+/Niche
Closing Thoughts:Decimator of the Provinces is a no-brainer acquisition with countless competitive applications across every major MP format. Even as a budget Craterhoof Behemoth it's still a fantastic finisher for creature-based shells and it would behoove you to acquire some at some point. Otherwise Eternal Scourge is legitimately oppressive but only alongside Food Chain so unless you plan on acquiring the latter don't even bother giving the former a second look.
White
Bruna, the Fading Light, Gisela, the Broken Blade, Brisela, Voice of Nightmares: Bruna can recur a host of powerful Angels/Humans including hits such as Emeria Shepherd, Avacyn, Angel of Hope and Iona, Shield of Emeria. That being said I dislike the "on cast" trigger in this instance since it prevents any and all abuse with things like Emeria, the Sky Ruin and Emeria Shepherd. Emeria, the Sky Ruin crushes Counterspell decks to begin with making the uncoutnerability a (mostly) trivial upside that hinders more than helps on average. Otherwise you're paying 7 CMC for some weak stats and a condition trigger when something as simple as Loyal Retainers can typically accomplish the same goal for as little as 3 CMC. Gisela is a sweet Baneslayer Angel throwback but unfortunately those kinds of cards don't scale well at all in multiplayer environments. A medium-sized flier isn't going to win many games for you and she dies to basically any removal under the sun. Brisela is crazy powerful and dodges most spot removal but I still see a card with a relatively high opportunity cost that dies to any old Wrath of God. Clearly if you do manage to Merge into Brisela and dodge mass removal then she's fantastic but ultimately this isn't a combination that impresses me. I don't like either card for their standalone value and the prospect of assembling Voltron isn't tantalizing enough to sway my decision otherwise.
Gisela Grade D+
Bruna Grade D+
Collective Effort: While none of its modes offer significant value in a MP setting the Escalate cost is trivial and all 3 options are reasonable regardless of the format/number of players. After all, paying 3 mana to kill a creature, destroy an Enchantment and Crusade your team is a fantastic rate that most token/creature-based archetypes should feel reasonably happy to pay.
Grade D
Selfless Spirit: At power <= 2 and CMC <=3 this gets tagged by White's relevant recursionengines. This makes it a reasonable sideboard option for midrange strategies operating in metas filled with mass removal. Otherwise feel free to jam in your midrange Control decks that sport their own mass removal spells insofar as you're able to recur the little guy as needed. Clearly this isn't a 2 drop that you should ever field "just because" but insofar as you're looking to hate out mass removal it's a reasonable recursion option.
Grade Niche/Sideboard
Sigarda's Aid: Not much to say about this card other than "2 thumbs up." I would always play the first in my Equipment/Aura-based shells since both effects confer meaningful value and the card is cheap enough to fire off at any stage of the game. Circumventing the expensive Equip costs of things like Worldslayer seems fantastic but even if you're simply jamming Swords, Jitte, Bonehoard, Loxodon Warhammer etc. that's still perfectly fine too. Don't get hung-up on trying to cheat Argentum Armor or Heartseeker into play if you wouldn't otherwise field them. This clearly isn't a card that you want to run as a 4-of since it's worthless in multiples and loses value over time but as I previous explained I would always run the first in archetypes with a critical mass of Auras/Equipment.
Grade C/Niche
Subjugator Angel: This card is stupendously powerful in Blink decks and will largely obsolete jank such as Angel of the Dire Hour. No, I'm not joking. The crippling flaw of "Sunblast Angels" is that they're completely unable to force the issue and actively win the game in stalemate scenarios. That is, if people simply sit back and turtle-up then you're powerless to demolish them. On the other hand if you're able to combo Subjugator Angel with a Blink engine then you've effectively assembled Moat + Fervor since you're now in a position where creatures can't attack you and your opponents can't block. Also, can you just imagine blinking this thing with Sunblast Angel using cards like Eerie Interlude and Ghostly Flicker? Or even getting Archaeomancer in on that action? That, ladies and gentlemen, is utterly insane.
Now, clearly this card is unplayable jank outside of Blink decks and I'm not suggesting otherwise. That being said insofar as you're sleeving up Eerie Interludes and whatnot then rest assured that this is exactly what you want to jamming at your 6 slot. The card is Sun Titan levels of good when it's supported properly and that's utterly absurd.
Grade C+/Niche
Thalia, Heretic Cathar: When it comes to Stax cards such as these it's important to remember that I'm the kind of person who's perfectly willing to field cards such as Limited Resources, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Winter Orb, Tangle Wire, Static Orb, Cataclysm, Armageddon, etc. if it will significantly increase my probability of winning multiplayer games of Magic. As such when I assign them grades it's always under the assumption that I'm building a cohesive Prison deck seeking to prevent my adversaries from casting spells altogether. If you aren't willingto build those kinds of lists then that's totally fine but don't hold it against me if my grade doesn't meet your expectations simply because you're unwilling to properly support the card.
With that in mind I think that Thalia 2.0 is certainly powerful but unfortunately she's still a tier below something like Vryn Wingmare. She obviously destroys people trying to curve fetchlands into shocks/duals but at 3 CMC she frequently hits too late to effectively punish people for fielding them. Forcing creatures to ETBT is decent (it hoses Splinter Twin combo decks for example) but Stax isn't an aggro strategy by any means and so other than hosing certain infinite combos this isn't as relevant as it seems. Otherwise she doesn't effect Artifacts nor Basic Lands which means that many decks will still be able to curve out normally even with a Thalia in play. This is especially true against newer players with budget-minded decks. For all these reasons I don't expect her to be a major roleplayer in the White-based Stax archetype and can't imagine seeing her pop up as more than a 1-of. I don't mind the first since she's a solid blocker with a disruptive effect but ultimately we're not looking at a new competitive staple that will always make the final cut.
Closing Thoughts: The standout purchases in my mind are Thalia's Lancers, Subjugator Angel and Sigarda's Aid. While none of them are "generic playables" in the sense that they can be slotted in any Wx shell they're still incredibly powerful and versatile for their cost and fill powerful, niche roles that can't easily be replicated. Thalia, Heretic Cathar is reasonable as a 1-of if you're a fan of Stax strategies but since the vast majority of casual players frown on Armageddon effects that one is slightly too narrow for the average player. All-in-all I'm content with White's haul from EMN since even though it didn't receive any bombs there's more than enough here to work with.
Blue
Coax from the Blind Eternities: I'm unhappy to see Wishes coming back. I loathe their casual applications and all of my theoretical multiplayer banned/restricted lists contain them. Don't get me wrong, Wishes are stupidly powerful Magic cards and most "good" decks should run full playsets with no questions asked. After all, a deck with 4x Living Wish and 4x Sylvan Primordial gets to play eight copies of Sylvan Primordial. "Oh but Prid3 what about deck construction rules and sideboards." Yeah no, sorry, none of that applies to kitchen table Magic. Read the rules; there are no sideboards in non-sanctioned games and cards that "you own from outside the game" comprise your entire collection. That is, you can definitely play a deck with 4x Llanowar Elves, 4x Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, 4x Shaman of Forgotten Ways, etc. and still have a ton more sitting in your collection to Living Wish for if desired. Are you starting to understand why I hate Wishes? Wishes are Demonic Tutors that bring "pay to win" consistency to decks. If you buy 8 of a card (as opposed to 4) then your decks get to play 8. Period. If you buy random cards that you wouldn't normally play in your decks but that you might Wish for (say Gaea's Herald or Dosan the Falling Leaf) then suddenly 100% of your Green decks have answers to Counterspells and the only thing that it costs you is money. More money = strictly better decks that have more access to relevant tools and options. They also hemorrhage time since it's perfectly legal to choose any card within your collection and suffice it to say that not everyone is kind enough to limit their selection to a pre-set "sideboard" that they have at their convenience. Digging through boxes/binders isn't fast or fun for anyone involved and there's no rule preventing people from doing so. Wishes are horrendous to play against for all these reasons and more and, again, I would always choose to ban them if given the option.
Rant aside Coax from the Blind Eternities is an extremely powerful Magic card. As in many orders of magnitude more powerful and relevant than something like Sarkhan's Triumph. The biggest difference between the two is that with Coax you don't actually have to play the cards in your deck. Given that it still enables you to nab any Eldrazi spell in your collection we're talking about an extremely powerful effect that isn't remotely comparable. After all, it can fetch Endbringer for removal/card advantage, Skittering Invasion for ramp, All is Dust for mass removal, any of the Eldrazi Titans as finishers, on and on and on. It also doesn't exile itself unlike most Wishes which means that you're able to recur it with things like Snapcaster Mage, Mizzix's Mastery, Archaeomancer, Past in Flames, etc. This enables you to play streamlined decks full of 4-ofs that still have access to toolbox threats/answers. The result is a deck that's not only consistent but flexible and versatile as well. It's the best of all worlds at the cost of a bit of speed.
To anyone looking for an obvious application think about a generic Cloudpost decks. This is your card draw, your removal, your finisher or even your Battlecruiser. Those decks frequently want to be pairing Mnemonic Wall with mass bounce anyways and having another relevant spell to recur is always sweet.
Displace: Given that Ghostly Flicker already has competitive applications it's safe to say that this is a very real Magic card. Blinking Peregrine Drake + Mnemonic Wall for infinite mana/Storm/etc. enables any number of combo kills and since Blue has a whole hose of free spells and recursive tools assembling the right components isn't especially difficult. Otherwise these kinds of cards blank removal, function as a pseudo Divinations (assuming that you use it to abuse ETB triggers), remove negative auras, on and on and on. Clearly its primary use should be as a degenerate combo engine but if you're forced to Evoke a Mulldrifter and Blink it alongside a Sea Gate Oracle then that's perfectly fine too.
Grade C-
Docent of Perfection: Conceptually I like the idea of pairing this card with powerful Wizards and spells but in practice I can't envision a practical way to implement it. "Spells matter" decks filled with creatures such as Young Pyromancer, Thing in the Ice, Guttersnipe, Talrand, Sky Summoner, Disciple of the Ring, etc. typically struggle in mutiplayer environments for a multitude of reasons. They're extremely soft to interaction, none of their spells are relevant when they don't have an engine in play, they don't field many blockers, they have limited forms of interaction, they're bad at pressuring life totals, etc. While the creatures themselves are arguably playable in a vacuum I've yet to face a single version of this archetype that could consistently win multiplayer games of Magic. Obviously the oppressive Storm decks that abuse rituals and mass recursion can legitimately seal the deal but the creature-based versions inevitably lose their key threats to removal and flounder around until they're put out of their misery. You simply can't win a game of multiplayer Magic by jamming a Guttersnipe and hoping that it miraculously survives while you cast 10 spells. Doesn't happen.
The other archetype that I had in mind for the Docent is clearly the Azami, Lady of Scrolls Wizards deck. The problem? Mind Over Matter is also a 5 drop and unlike the Docent it literally wins the game on the spot when it resolves. After all, it combos with Azami, Lady of Scrolls to draw your entire library and which point you can jam Laboratory Maniac for an on-the-spot win against any number of players. As much as I want to like the idea of slotting another powerful Wizard lord into the archetype the last thing that the tribe needed is another 5 drop.
Grade C-
Identity Thief: As much as I love me a Clone this card is total trash. It does nothing the turn that you cast it, it's worthless on defense, it's actively bad at interacting with a huge % of multiplayer threats, etc. The one and only use for it is abusing your own ETB triggers which isn't remotely competitive enough to justify fielding it.
Grade F
Imprisoned in the Moon: I've been woefully unimpressed with Song of the Dryads and a significantly weaker version doesn't entice me in the slightest. Bluntly put you're paying too much for too little since axing a creature at Sorcery-speed for 3 CMC is a heinous rate that you should never pay. Yes, it hits problematic lands and/or PWers as well but I can only take so much solace in that. The only truly effectively niche that this card serves is that you can field it in EDH to turn opposing Commanders into lands. That's about it. Even then I still think that this effect is largely overrated but I can't deny the fact that some EDH decks struggle to win without their Commander and that removing lands/Enchantments is usually difficult and/or time consuming.
Grade Niche
Lunar force: This will undoubtedly get tested in Sun Titan decks and Zur the Enchanter will give it a whirl in EDH but until we get an opportunity to play with it it's impossible to determine its competitive viability. As much as I'd like to offer more insight on the subject we've never had a competitive version of this effect until now (Hesitation isn't a powerful magic card) and this isn't the type of card that you can rate in a vacuum. The base card is terrible but the synergies are insane so at this point it's still anyone's guess.
Mind's Dilation: I'm legitimately confused as to why this card isn't generating any hype whatsoever. Last time I checked Lurking Predators was bonkers and a Blue alternative that hits every nonland card is going to absolutely crush tables. You're obviously at the mercy of what your opponents are fielding but I'm not one to assume that they'll all be on decks full of nonsense. No matter how you slice it it's a fantastic form of lategame card advantage that will all-but ensure long-run victory when games drag out. Moreover, unlike Lurking Predators it doesn't impose strict deckbuilding requirements which means that you can blindly jam it into your Ux shells without having to worry about land/creature/spell counts. Even if you conservatively assume a 50% hit rate (which is a low-ball figure by any standard) that's still an immense amount of value to accrue over time. After all, this triggers from the first spell cast by each opponent each turn which includes removal used in combat, counter magic, EOT draw spells, on and on and on. You can't "cheat the system" by operating at instant-speed or anything. With respect to the 7 CMC pricetag it's obviously high and the threat of losing your Enchantment to removal is stressful but neither of those concerns are compelling enough to change my stance on the card. It's going to be a fantastic addition to any Blue decks that can reasonably cast it even if you only run 1-2 as lategame finishers. Otherwise if you want to cheat it out with things like Academy Rector then that's perfectly fine too since this card will just plain win games on its own. Beyond that this is a card that excels in any format (Cube, Constructed, EDH), that can legitimately win games on its own, that asks nothing of you (other than casting it) and that's playable in any Ux shell. If that's not a home-run then I don't know what is.
Grade B+
Summary Dismissal: You can dismiss this or any other 4 CMC counterspell for that matter. Except maybe Dismiss. God damnit. All jokes aside this card is way too slow and shouldn't even be played as a counter-measure to Storm spells.
Grade F
Take Inventory: A sorcery-speed Accumulated Knowledge isn't fantastic but since AK still sees fringe Vintage play I can't in good conscience completely overlook this card. It has immense synergy with Intuition but even as a generic draw spell it's still perfectly playable insofar as your list has a critical mass of cantrips and card draw. The first two that you cast in a given game aren't great but at 3+ you're sitting pretty. While that won't naturally occur with any frequency if you list includes 4x Ponder, 4x Trade Secrets, etc. then finding them in large numbers isn't especially difficult at which point the card is relatively competitive.
The primary reason why I can't give Take Inventory a high grade is because Accumulated Knowledge is strictly better and inexpensive to acquire. It's a very reasonable card in a vacuum but there's realistically no incentive to actively purchase/play it.
Grade C
Unsubstantiate: Remand sees serious amounts of competitive play in MP Storm decks as a means to double your Tendrils of Agony damage. Before anyone cries "win more" show me a list that reliably deals 60ish damage "the fair way" and then we'll talk. Unsubstantiate is clearly an order of magnitude weaker than Remand but for budget-minded/EDH decks having an alternative is always relevant. The fact that it doubles as permission/removal for hatebears is semi-relevant since you can't exactly win through an Eidolon of Rhetoric. Still, its primary use is to bounce your Storm spells to double their effectiveness since the first cast is rarely good enough to get the job done.
Grade Niche
Wharf Infiltrator: Even if we ignore graveyard-based synergies Looters are incredibly valuable assets in a game like Magic as they significantly improve the overall quality of your hands. After all, the net result of looting is that your hand either improves or stays the same at the insignificant cost of milling a random card from your library. Moreover, it's virtually always beneficial to loot when your deck has graveyard-based synergies (such as Treasure Cruise) which is why you'll see experts of the game looting even when they have 0 cards in hand (effectively milling a random card). With respect to Wharf Infiltrator itself there are definitely some finer points that I do want to discuss. First, the creature text is pure gravy and shouldn't concern anyone in the slightest. This is still a totally reasonable 2 drop even in decks with 0 creatures. Clearly we're happy if we can sometimes discard creatures and turn them into tokens but by no means is it required. Your 4x Take Inventory 4x Treasure Cruise list should still happily play this card and feel actively good about it. Otherwise I want to stress that that while this card is undeniably less consistent than Merfolk Looter let's be reasonable with our concerns. The probability that 100% of your opponents will have 1/X blockers is relatively low which means that you should be able to consistently rely on the looting effect. That isn't to say that Wharf Infiltrator's better than Merfolk Looter in creature-light decks but in formats such as Cube and EDH you don't have the luxury of jamming them in large quantities. The biggest downside of this card, in my mind, is that it must attack someone and deal damage. I can say with certainty that I would rather have the card read "you may have it deal no damage, if you do then you may loot" than the current text. After all, the natural, rational reaction to being hurt is to prevent it from happening again in the future. That's basic human behavior. This "X factor" is the primary reason why I couldn't see this card ever supplanting Merfolk Looter even in creature-based decks that could reasonably expect to churn out a handful of tokens.
Grade C-
Closing Thoughts:Mind's Dilation is a clear-cut competitive staple that has countless applications regardless of your preferences as a player/deckbuilder. Blue has plenty of other relevant options to consider but none are broad enough to earn a generic "seal of approval" from me. I still encourage you to acquire and build-around most of these cards if those are the kinds of archetypes that you enjoy brewing but for unless you have a specific list already in mind odds are you won't have an easy time finding homes for them all.
Black
Collective Brutality: Reanimatorstrategies are usually oppressive if left unchecked which is where cards such as Deathrite Shaman and Force of Will come into play. This is a cheap discard outlet that simultaneously answers both permission and hatebears which makes it an ideal solution to these types of problematic answers.
Grade Sideboard
Cryptbreaker: While I appreciate the fact that relevant 1-2 drops are being printed this one probably isn't going to make the final cut in many lists. As a draw engine it's conditional and vulnerable to removal in a color with access to plenty of alternatives which aren't. As a "Pack Rat" it doesn't exactly spiral out of control if left unchecked and even as a discard outlet it's extremely slow and unable to abuse multiple discards. Whereas cards such as Tortured Existence and Necromancer's Stockpile can pitch multiple Veilborn Ghouls (or whatever) this is a one-and-done deal. It's cute and clever and I wouldn't blame anyone for fielding it as a 1-2 of in their Zombie decks but clearly we're not exactly looking at the next Relentless Dead or anything. This isn't how you want to fuel your Contamination and don't go tricking yourself into thinking that "it helps your curve by giving you early game plays." 1 mana 1/1s and 2 mana 2/2s may be cards but they certainly aren't relevant which is all that matters when you're trying to win games. The most compelling reason to field this little guy is that when you do manage to swarm out and dodge mass removal then he's a reasonable draw engine that can accrue significant card advantage over time. That makes him solid but not outstanding by any means.
Grade D+
Liliana, the Last Hope: As much as I love her -2 her +1 is heinous and her -7 is way too slow and unreliable even in Death Cloud decks and whatnot. I don't expect her to be a competitive role-player as a result. I'm not even enticed to test her in Dark Ritual decks given that you'll only be able to tick her down once before starting to tick her back up again. You may as well jam a Phyrexian Arena into play at that point. If her +1 were a +2 or if her -2 were a -1 then I'd be significantly more inclined to give her a whirl but as it sits the numbers are far too conservative to warrant consideration.
By the way, I've read discussions about comboing Noosegraf Mob with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed but why wouldn't you simply play Triskelion at that point? What's better, a board full of Zombies or infinite damage to creatures/players? Doesn't seem particularly close to me.
Grade C
Oath of Liliana: Without getting into every possible corner-case the only advantage that this card offers over Merciless Executioner/Fleshbag Marauder is that it adds 1 more devotion for Gray Merchant of Asphodel. Since the creature and/or Zombie tag will matter significantly more often this isn't an especially interesting card to someone like me. If you desperately wanted a 3rd Edict for EDH/Cube it the option now exists but even then I'd still rather field Slum Reaper for the creature tag and/or GY synergies. Just so we're clear, even in decks with PWers a 2/2 Zombie is unlikely to matter and realistically won't be able to protect them from your adversaries. The card is certainly reasonable and in a vacuum I would be singing its praises but I don't see any compelling reason to acquire them over Fleshbag Marauders given that the GY synergy, the creature card type and/or the Zombie subtype are all going to be significantly more relevant the vast majority of the time. If you're somehow playing 8ish PWers then go nuts but otherwise just stick to the alternatives.
Grade C
Rise from the Grave: "Any" graveyard revival is always handy to have in a MP setting and the bonus Zombie tag can sometimes matter. That being said this card is laughably weak compared to alternatives such as Reanimate, Animate Dead, Dance of the Dead and Necromancy and shouldn't be played outside of budget and/or card availability concerns.
Grade D
Skirsdag Supplicant: Urborg Syphon-Mage sees next-to-no play and this card is strictly worse as far as I'm concerned. It's obviously slightly more mana efficient from a straight burn perspective but I think that you should almost always be willing to spring for the "Syphon Soul" instead.
Tree of Perdition: Marginal 2HG/EDH playable and/or lifegain hoser. Much like Sorin Markov I expect it to be overrated (especially since this version isn't even guaranteed to activate) but at the same I appreciate why casual players would be excited to field a "4 mana deal 27 put an 0/40 blocker into play." Ultimately it wins fewer games than most realize but it makes for fond memories which is good enough for many Magicians out there. What I will say is that this card does benefit immensely from Lightning Graves et al. (which are obviously EDH staples) and since Black is the king of recursion it's extremely easy to recur this badboy as needed. Given that the same cannot be said about Sorin Markov this card fills a niche role that doesn't currently exist outside of the Esper colors.
EDH/2HG Grade C
Closing Thoughts: Even as a die-hard Black I still don't see any compelling reason to acquire any of EMN's Black offerings. Oath of Liliana is solid in a vacuum but I can't imagine ever fielding it over the Fleshbag Marauder/Merciless Executioner alternatives so why bother shelling out cash for them? Nothing else is even note-worthy and I don't expect anything other than Tree of Perdition to see any reasonable amount of play. Not that Tree is a "must have" or anything, I'm simply well aware of the fact that casual players overrate the "Sorin Markov" ability in formats such as EDH. Disappointing but not unsurprising.
Red
Bedlam Reveler: This card is so close to having competitive applications but unfortunately it's a hair short of getting there. At its peak it's a 2 mana draw 3 that can be Twinflamed/Heat Shimmered which is fantastic place to be. This is especially true given that Red spell-based decks typically win using cards like Past in Flames and Mizzix's Mastery which ensures that the discard aspect of the card is still manageable. While hitting 6 instants/sorceries isn't an easy task it's still doable in Izzet shells that pair cantrips with loot spells and mass card draw. From there it's trivially easy to assemble a whack of rituals to power out the aforementioned mass recursion devices at which point you can easily win the game using oppressive engines, Storm finishers and Battlecruisers. The upside of a 2 mana draw 3 isn't quite powerful enough to offset how weak this card is early on and unlike Treasure Cruise et al. this one doesn't trigger off of fetchlands, creatures, etc. which will make the effect significantly less consistent. Also, while the discard isn't a deal-breaker it's not exactly beneficial either so let's not to get ahead of ourselves and pretend as though it's all upside. Much like Ideas Unbound I fully expect it to see some amount of competitive play but overall it strikes me being slightly too clunky to boast any generic applications. After all, the 3/4 Prowess body will matter for duels but not for multiplayer and you pay way too much for a body that you realistically can't abuse. It might see competitive duel play but it won't quite get there in multiplayer.
Grade C
Collective Defiance: Please stop calling this trash a "Wheel." If you can't curve a bunch of fast mana into it and draw a fresh hand each and every time then it doesn't have any competitive applications. Period.
Otherwise I think we can all agree that Hanweir, the Writhing Township is a decent beater that puts an extremely quick clock on anyone who's fallen behind on board. 13 Hasted power is no joke, especially when it's attached to 3 bodies. It's clearly not a top-tier finisher by any means but it's certainly good enough to kill a player or two on occasion putting it somewhere in the realm of a "Myr Battlesphere."
With that in mind just how good is Hanweir Garrison? I've playtested similar creatures in the past since there's a whole host of 3 CMC threats that generate value insofar as they connect with an opponent. A great example is Thada Adel, Acquisitor which is extremely competitive in Cube/EDH as an eater of Sol Rings but a more recent example would be something along the lines of Jeskai Infiltrator which is mostly unplayable by comparison. As a standalone card I'm inclined to slot Hanweir Garrison into the "unplayable" category since I generally dislike creatures that have "must attack" written on them in multiplayer and this one is no exception. They incite retribution and are utterly worthless when you're behind which aren't great places to be in general. That being said the upside of this card is relatively high and churning out bodies for things like Ogre Battledriver and Purphoros, God of the Forge can be messed-up when you're hitting a open target. People miss land drops, don't curve out, have their threats removed, etc. and so it's not uncommon to swing in multiple times unimpeded with these kinds of threats every now and then. While this generally wouldn't be enough to push a card into the "playable" category remember that we're legitimately happy to play Hanweir Battlements in virtually 100% of Red decks and so we do have to take the Hanweir, the Writhing Township synergy into account. This obviously kills the card for Cube/EDH play but in Constructed it's just barely good enough to get it into the "I'll always run at least one" range. You don't want to run 4 or anything but the first is fine for the potential to go big at some during your games.
Harmless Offering: This card is unplayable trash in Cube/EDH/multiplayer outside of extremely niche formats/strategies such as 2HG and Zedruu the Greathearted EDH. After all, assembling 2+ card combos to occasionally defeat single adversaries is both heinously weak and extremely unfun to play with and against. Why you would ever want to subject yourself to playing a kingmaker deck is beyond me. Since I couldn't care less about casual nonsense such as Zedruu EDH that realistically only leaves us with 2HG to analyze. Given the existence of cards such as Donate and Demonic Pact there's a multitude of 2-card kill packages available using these kinds of cards. Moreover since you're in "Grixis" you have access to Blue/Black tutors/draw spells which means that consistency shouldn't be a major concern either. That being said it's unfortunate that Illusions of Grandeur doesn't seal the deal in 2HG where players start with 30 life and since Demonic Pact kills extremely slowly it's at least a tier below other combo decks. Its power-level will continue to rise as Wizards prints additional "you lose the game" permanents but until then I don't see a compelling reason to go deep on Harmless Offering.
2HG Grade Niche
Mirrorwing Dragon: Zada, Hedron Grinder 2.0 has arrived which is perfect for bringing additional consistency to the strategy. This variation even dissuades spot removal insofar as your opponents have creatures themselves. For those wondering how these kinds of cards work the idea is typically to flood the board with tokens, jam one of these and chain things like Crimson Wisps until you draw your deck and assemble some premeditated victory condition. It's usually something along the lines of chaining a whack of Berserks, Invigorates and/or Temur Battle Rages then smashing the table for millions. My issue with these kinds of cards has always been that they force you to jump through too many hoops before you're able to extract meaningful value from them. Let's assume that our goal is to curve token generators into Mirrorwing Dragon into some sort of payoff. That's all fine and dandy when it works but what happens when you're not goldfishing against sacks of potatoes? What happens when your board gets Wrathed, if you don't draw your Dragon or it gets countered/killed/etc., you don't draw your payoff, etc.? Whereas a card like Purphoros, God of the Forge removes the need for payoff cards and simply rewards you for playing a bunch of token generators why needlessly jump through that third hoop for a weaker, less consistent gameplan?
The only decent application for this card that I could think of would be to slot it as your 5 drop in decks filled with creatures that have powerful ETB triggers supported with spells such as Twinflame and Heat Shimmer. That way all of your cards work all of the time and you're not required to draw them in the right sequence in order to extract value from them. Even if your Dragons die, no big deal, simply target your other creatures with your spells. Obviously if you want those ETB triggers to be things like Pia and Kiran Nalaar and Siege-Gang Commander then that opens the door for some busted sequences but the idea here is that all of your cards have standalone value and so you're never unhappy to simply Twinflame any other random threats in your list. Maybe Dualcaster Mage for example ;)?
Grade D+
Nahiri's Wrath: Until they print a Boros Reckoner that effects "each opponent" I don't expect this card to have any competitive applications.
Grade D
Shreds of Sanity: A double Regrowth in Red is extremely powerful and this is easily its most competitive offering from the set. Don't get bogged-down by the fact that it's a 3 mana 2-for-2 because in the context of a spell-based combo deck this is the type of effect that can legitimately win games on the spot. Recurring a Dark Ritual/Rite of Flame/Seething Song and Yawgmoth's Will/Mizzix's Mastery will routinely enable you to win within the next few turns and I'm extremely excited to test this card in various Storm brews as a result. This is a must-have for Storm aficionados.
Grade B
Stromkirk Occultist: Much like Sin Prodder from the previous set I don't expect this card to see any play. Even in decks that can pitch it to Faithless Looting and/or clear blockers with burn I cannot stand the idea of fielding a card advantage engine that actively forces a reaction from my opposition. Whenever I'm playing a simple midrange/control/combo/ramp deck I want to draw as little attention to myself as possible and hitting people for 3 is never part of the plan. That forces removal, retribution, unwanted attention on and on and on. Why not simply field a card like Outpost Siege which is not only more durable but infinitely less combative? Just so we're clear, I understand that these kinds of kinds do scale decently well in multiplayer given that you can usually prey on players having a bad draw/game. Kicking the player who's down is typically a low risk, medium reward play that you should usually take advantage of. Even then I still don't recommend fielding these kinds of card advantage engines because they rarely improve your overall win %. This one strikes me as being especially weak given that it virtually has "must attack" printed on it (unless you want play a 3/2 for 2-3 in multiplayer) and since the upside realistically isn't there I don't see any compelling argument to force a reaction from someone for the sole purpose of drawing cards.
Grade D
Thermo-Alchemist: Guttersnipe now has a brother-in-arms which should make that archetype slightly more consistent and resilient. It's also relevant to note that this card is bonkers with Jeskai Ascendancy which literally doubles its damage while also providing it with a steady stream of fodder. Whenever possible try to pair these kinds of cards with plenty of cheap counters, cantrips and masscarddraw since you want to win over the course of 2-3 turns whenever possible. This decreases your probability of being hated out by pressure/removal since you will be drawing heat from the rest of the table and it's not as though your spells are well-suited to protecting you in general.
Grade C
Closing Thoughts:Hanweir Battlements is the only reasonable playable of the lot. Everything else is too niche, too weak or too conditional to justify acquiring. As per usual I'm disappointed but not surprised to see Red get the shaft given Wizard's propensity to avoid pushing the color in any way, shape or form.
Green
Eldritch Evolution: As much as it pains me to see people buying-out Allosaurus Rider with dreams of cheating Griselbrand into play this is still a card that you should be excited about. After all, curving Tasigur, the Golen Fang into Griselbrand is a "real" sequence and its only one of many that will undoubtedly make this card insane. "Bad Birthing Pod, bad Natural Order" people constantly compare it cards that are horrendously degenerate (if-not banned in some formats) as if that some how detracts from its power-level? Really? This card has significantly more potential than Chord of Calling and that card sees more than enough competitive play to convince me that this will likely be a key roleplayer for years to come. Curving Wood Elves/Reclamation Sage into Seedborn Muse/Prophet of Kruphix is absurd and converting 4-5 drops into Primeval Titans/Sylvan Primordials is disgusting. I realize that tutors are boring and make for linear games that play out the same way each and every time (contrary to popular belief) but you can't argue with their results and this one is definitely on the competitive side of the spectrum. It won't supplant the likes of Green Sun's Zenith and Survival of the Fittest but I can assure that it will hold its own fighting alongside them. This is a must-have competitive staple across all major MP archetypes.
Grade A
Emrakul's Influence, Ulvenwald Observer: Green has come a long way and no longer needs to play with weak, conditional card draw engines such as these.
Grade F+
Gnarlwood Dryad, Permeating Mass: While I appreciate the fact that these kinds of cards function as stellar early-game blockers don't lose sight of the fact that Walls don't win games of Magic. If I'm going to run Green 1 drops I want them to be things like Carpet of Flowers that meaningfully advance my board and gameplan. If you desperately want more early-game defense then so be it but make no mistake that ramp wins games of Magic whereas Walls do not.
Ishkanah, Grafwidow: As someone who loves curving Prossh, Skyraider of Kher into Avenger of Zendikar I'm not unhappy to see something sweet to help fill out the list at 5 CMC. Jundy token decks that curve army-in-a-can threats into powerfulfinishers are incredibly satisfying to pilot, especially when supported with Red bombs and busted card draw. Otherwise Black offers Zulaport Cutthroat style drainers, card draw, removal, etc. which makes for a very and powerful archetype overall. The Grafwidow here clearly needs a bit of support to shine but insofar as you can reliably meet the Delirium requirement the card seems reasonable enough to make the cut even if it's only as a 1-of. A bit of extra reach never hurts since flying defense is always nice and otherwise any 4 bodies are fine when you emphasize quantity over quality.
Grade D+
Noose Constrictor: Free discard outlet for the The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage combo (or any other combo that requires a free discard outlet for that matter). Potentially relevant for Modern versions of the archetype, EDH, etc.
Grade Niche
Primal Druid: Whenever I play Birthing Pod decks I typically field 4x Viridian Emissary and 1x Sylvan Ranger. Primal Druid is strictly better than the Ranger as far as I'm concerned and so this seems like an easy swap to me. The lists also usually play some split of Innocent Bloods and/or Fleshbag Marauders and you can clearly see how these 2 -> 3 curves can you put you in a great place.
Grade Niche
Splendid Reclamation: When they first spoiled this card I knew that it had been mistranslated since it read "each land" as opposed to "each Basic land." Laughable right? That would have been utterly ridiculous and heinously broken. Just imagine that for a second. What's our worst-case scenario? We play a deck with 10 Fetchlands and it's an Explosive Vegetation that grabs duals/shocks/tangos/etc. That's our floor. That is, our nightmare outcome is a staple ramp spell that already sees reasonable amounts of play. Best-case scenario we pair it with self-mill, MLD, Dredgers, etc. at which point the card is stupidly broken. Well, good thing we got that mess sorted out with the correct translation. Time to move on.
Wait.
Hang on a second.
O.O
No, really, what? How is this a real magic card? Are you seriously saying that I get to play Crop Rotations, Tranquil Thickets, Realms Uncharted, etc. and have them be pure card advantage? My Fetchlands get to pull double or even triple duty? When I Dredge my Life from the Loam, pitch a land to Mox Diamond, activate my Knight of the Reliquary, etc. it's pure gravy? I'll take 10! This card is bonkers and see endless amount of play across every major multiplayer format. There's no shortage of ways to transform it into a 4 mana Boundless Realms and having that much power on such a cheap card is going to revolutionize certain archetypes.
Grade A
Closing Thoughts: As always Green makes out like a bandit with multiple top-tier playables. Both Eldritch Evolution and Splendid Reclamation are disgustingly powerful Magic cards with countless combo/synergy applications that figure to see an immense amount of play as a result. They're extremely safe investments from a play-ability standpoint and avid Green mages would do well to acquire them.
Multicolor
Gisa and Geralf: A 4/4 for 4 with 2 relevant upsides is going to be good enough for most metas and the power-ceiling for G&G is surprisingly high in removal-light spheres. A large % of casual decks can't beat Fleshbag Marauder/Gray Merchant of Asphodel loops and let's not forget that converting Sidisi, Undead Vizier into a string of Demonic Tutors can be quite back-breaking as well. Otherwise self-mill is fantastic when your deck has cards like Unholy Grotto and Treasure Cruise and the 4/4 body is typically going to halt most 1-3 drops in their tracks making this a solid addition to any UB Control shell employing some number of Zombies.
Grade C+
Grim Flayer: The comments that I've read pertaining to this card have left me scratching my head in disbelief. What is it about self-mill that turns otherwise reasonable individuals into bumbling buffoons? People do realize that this is strictly better than a 2 mana 2/2 that Scrys 3 when it deals combat damage to a player right? Surely people haven't forgotten that Volrath's Stronghold, Animate Dead, Deep Analysis, Treasure Cruise, etc. are cards have they? Also, the Delirium ability is incredibly relevant because it enables you to attack opponents with inadequate blockers and it only takes one to get in for real damage + significant amounts of self-mill. This is a "Dark Confidant" that will routinely hit play early on and provide significant value for a huge % of the game.
Grade B+
Tamiyo, Field Researcher: Any PWer that combos with Doubling Season to win the game on the spot is A-OK in my books and a free Ancestral Recall + Omniscience certainly qualifies. Otherwise her +1 works off of any combat damage (not just player damage) and her -2 can nail big mana rocks or scary beaters for an extended period of time. Clearly her -2 is on the weaker side of the spectrum in a multiplayer setting but her +1 is solid and her ultimate is game-winning and so I'm looking forward to testing her in various Bant Elfball/Stax/Prison/Pillow-Fort strategies. This is the type of PWer that can legitimately make it in multiplayer and I can't stress just how stupidly broken that ultimate of hers is. If you've never cast a Omniscience before let me assure that it doesn't read "you sometimes win the game" or "you usually win the game." No, that sucker triggers the "scoop phase" faster than you can blink and there's no two ways about it.
Grade C+
Ulrich of the Krallenhorde, Ulrich, Uncontested Alpha: The name is certainly fitting given that this is the uncontested worst card in the set. Not because it's the weakest but rather because it's the most blatant "screw you" to casual players that I've personally ever seen. The kitchen table community has been pushing for a Legendary Werewolf for Commander since original Innistrad and this is a slap in the face to all of the loyal fans who've been patiently waiting for an Alpha to lead the pack. Of all the things that they could have printed they settled on this do-nothing pile of garbage that literally brings nothing to the archetype. That is, not only is the card itself stone unplayable but it doesn't even reward you for playing Werewolf tribal. The only boxes that it ticks are "it's a Werewolf" and "it's legendary" because there's literally nothing else even worth noting. People are still going to play it because "flavour" but why not throw them a bone and give them the card that they actually wanted? Something along the lines of "your werewolves flip when they ETB and stay flipped" or some other nonsense. I'll never build a janky tribal deck, I'm not a game designer, I don't care about flavour, I don't care about tribes, I only play to win on and and on and on but even I'm disappointed by this pathetic excuse of a card. Your fans deserved better than this Wizards.
Wizard's Grade F
Closing Thoughts:Grim Flayer is one of the most powerful MP 2 drops that we've seen in a long time and I would personally play it in any BGx graveyard-based archetype. Since that encompasses the vast majority of competitive Golgari/Sultai/Abzan shells (especially in EDH) suffice it to say that I'm looking forward to jamming this badboy in dozens of archetypes.
Artifact
Cryptolith Fragment: 3 CMC ramp that ETBT and that only bumps one mana is about as weak as it gets. Mana of any color is nice and the lifeloss aspect could be relevant in some scenarios but ultimately this will never supplant cards like Fellwar Stone.
Grade D
Soul Separator: Cool card, cool flavour, cool interaction with Sun Titan but unfortunately not remotely playable. People have suggested things like Colossus of Akros and Lord of Extinction and tons of other random jank but I've yet to see a compelling reason to include this card in a deck if your goal is to win multiplayer games of Magic. After all, the thing both costs 8 mana and sacrifices itself so no matter how you slice it you're never doing anything remotely oppressive with this thing.
Grade D+
Stitcher's Graft: Card is unplayable. With that out of the way I do want to plug Grafted Wargear to anyone who isn't yet aware of it. In MP you'll frequently field creatures that offer plenty of value but little meat only to find yourself in the awkward position of having no answer to attacks from large beaters. A singleton Grafted Wargear can go a long way to deterring pressure and since the Equip cost is always free you never need to worry about weaving the mana for it into your sequences. If someone kills your blocker you can simply re-Equip it at no cost while still curving out. Obviously the card is vulnerable to dedicated Artifact hate but that's rarely a deal-breaker in my experience since people typically don't have much incentive to expend resources to actively remove blockers in the first place.
Grade F
Closing Thoughts: Yet another set with 0 playable Artifacts. FeelsBadMan.
Land
Geier Reach Sanitarium: This card will certainly see competitive play second(ish) Mikokoro, Center of the Sea for all of those Underworld Dreams + Liliana's Caress style archetypes that benefit from this type of effect. It should also see play in most Waste Not strategies and it even makes cards such as Geth's Grimoire completely absurd. Basically this card is complete trash in generic decks but insofar as forcing your opponents to draw + discard cards benefits you in some way then I'd virtually always run the first. I'd never recommend jamming any more than that however since the effect is relevant but you don't want to lose games from drawing multiples and being unable to make your land drops. After all, the card isn't that good.
Grade Niche
Nephalia Academy: Decent sideboard hate against dedicated discard strategies. This clearly doesn't prevent card disadvantage but it does offer card selection without carrying a significant opportunity cost. After all, it's a land that ETBU so you can always play it if needed and/or if your opponents don't draw their discard spells.
Grade Sideboard
Closing Thoughts: I'm reasonably happy with all 3 lands (don't forget about Hanweir Battlements) and could easily see myself fielding all of them at some point in the future. The first Hanweir Battlements is an auto-include in Red decks and as a Waste Not aficionado myself I'm definitely going to grab a Geier Reach Sanitarium if only to give it a whirl. Given that you would do well to field some Nephalia Academys against me I can't complain about EMN's offerings to the world of nonbasic lands. It didn't receive another Boseiju, Who Shelters All or anything but the quality and play-ability are certainly there.
Closing Thoughts
I'm left feeling rather deflated about EMN for reasons that I'm somewhat struggling to articulate. In many ways it boils down to the fact that we already know what we're getting when it comes to its relevant offerings which means that there's no mystery or suspense that awaits us. The obviously good cards are obvious and there's very little else that could spring out of the woodwork and take us all by surprise. Moreover, while Blue received some interesting commons/uncommons none of of the other colors really did and while everyone has its fair share of playable rares/mythics the vast majority are worthless outside of specific, niche strategies. EMN undoubted brought some new tools to work with but most are shiny spin-offs of cards that we've seen dozens of times across multiple colors already. Clearly it wasn't a total flop as any set that brings something new to the table is a win in my books but it also won't go down as one of the more memorable multiplayer sets of all time. I can't help but feel as though most people share my sentiment of "/shrug" when they peruse the spoiler making it a decent but forgettable set in the end.
Great to hear your silky voice. Seems to be about the usual amount of playables in the set.
I got a mic last xmas and this is the first time that I've ever used it so I still have to figure out the right distance for it and such. Didn't help that I had record that segment multiple times trying to get OBS to work (source: I'm an idiot) and by the time that I had everything working I was very cotton-mouthed. Hopefully the next sections will go smoother.
Really love your youtube review! Hope you keep it up and maybe even do things like top 10 multiplayer blue cards or things like that. On another note, Somehow I hadn't noticed sigarda's aid, thabks for pointing it out, such a great card. I'm gonna buy tons, because I feel like its a good candidate for a price spike in the future.
Yes. Summoner's Pact, Worldly Tutor, Survival of the Fittest, Eladamri's Call, Fierce Empath and a host of other cards all interact favorably with creatures but not spells. Greater Good saccing a 2-3 mana 9/9 is amazing since you get to keep the pump effect while digging for more pump spells to finish the game on the spot. DoTP can be Emerged early on and then pitched to Birthing Pod afterwards to cheat out an 11 drop such as Worldspine Wurm. There's plenty of incentives to field a creature over a spell in a color such as Green.
Overrun can't be cast for value. You never want run it out to deal damage. The same is also for true for Decimator of the Provinces but the reality is that a 7/7 is a real blocker and 7 Hasted, Trampling power from an empty board is no joke.
I don't understand "you can't have too many or too few creatures" comment. Decimator of the Provinces is 7/7 Hasted beater the turn that you cast it and the math on that is very simple. For Overrun to deal more damage you need 3N > 7 + 2N where N is the number of attacking creatures that you're pumping. The break-even point is at N = 7 and for every value above that Overrun is superior from a pure damage perspective. The Emerge exchange obviously changes the math slightly but only on single-spell turns. A big incentive to field an Emerge finisher is so that you can double-spell by jamming DotP + Beastmaster Ascension for OTKs. Still, this figure obviously excludes the games where you run DotP out as a blocker, tutor for it with Fierce Empaths, pitch it to Greater Good, on and on and on. There's more to the card than a burn finisher.
I talk about this more in the audio set review. I think that DoTP has legitimate competitive applications as a standalone threat given its ability to be cast for low sums of mana on turns where you Emerge cards like Prossh, Skyraidaer of Kher and Avenger of Zendikar. Otherwise $25.00 is a lot to pay for a single card and regardless of whether or not DoTP is superior if it's a reasonable alternative for 1/5th of the price then that interest me as a "real world" deckbuilder who operates under budgetary constraints.
Not many cards I'm excited about.
Mind's Dilation, Shreds of Sanity & Splendid Reclamation I'll be picking up. Grim Flayer aswell if the price stays down.
One I like the look of, is Bedlam Reveler. It's not really a MP card, more a duel choice to stick in something like UR Delver, but could be fun.
I wonder...
Oh I'm aware. I even briefly discuss it in my audio set review. My point was merely that most White revival effects are typically "to play" which is no bueno in this instance.
This is my pick for most awesome card in the set and I'm totally going to jam it, but I'm not overly optimistic.
The way I look at these kinds of cards is that they're 1 card win conditions with 0 meaningful deckbuilding constraints. My decks will typically reach 7 mana regardless and I don't need any specific subset of cards to transform it into a powerful card advantage engine. Even if it's not slam-dunk competitive staple it's still significantly more exciting than 99% of Blue's current card pool. Clearly the card is slow and dies to removal, no one is suggesting otherwise, but I have an immense amount of respect for cards that can figuratively win 4+ multiplayer games on their own and this one qualifies. For all the decks and comments that I see about people calling X, Y or Z "win more" it's astonishingly difficult to figuratively win multiplayer games in my experience.
All jokes aside I think that both Cryptic and Dismiss are unplayable and I was just trying to be funny. 4 mana is too much to pay for interaction and the 2-for-1 isn't significant in MP. You will win significantly more games playing cheap permssion such as Counterspell alongside oppressive draw engines such as Mystic Remora, Rhystic Study and Consecrated Sphinx. Play the dirt-cheap junk like Nature's Claim and Swan Song since card "quality" is totally irrelevant when your draws spells are netting an average of 4 cards anyways which means that your primary concern should deploying as many resources as quickly as you possibly can.
You did get that Mind's Dilation is going to let you cast your opponents' stuff, right? That's without me checking the audio review, but comparing it to Lurking Predators (which lets you cast your own stuff) makes it a little confusing.
All the same, I'm hyped for it too, and I'm sure I'll have a crack at making it work at some point. I suspect it's going to end up a $1 mythic at some point, so I'm waiting until then before I spring for them.
You did get that Mind's Dilation is going to let you cast your opponents' stuff, right? That's without me checking the audio review, but comparing it to Lurking Predators (which lets you cast your own stuff) makes it a little confusing.
All the same, I'm hyped for it too, and I'm sure I'll have a crack at making it work at some point. I suspect it's going to end up a $1 mythic at some point, so I'm waiting until then before I spring for them.
Yes, but after re-reading my entry I agree that my description is ambiguous.
However, Nephalia Academy only works when your opponents make you discard.
Oh I understand, but the key thing to remember is that this is a low-opportunity cost card. If someone in your meta loves discard decks it would be perfectly reasonable to field these in order to provide you with some card selection. You would never blindly jam this into your brews but if you know for a fact that someone will have a discard deck then insofar as your deck does have strict mana requirements I would virtually always play some number of these.
Summary Dismissal: You can dismiss this or any other 4 CMC counterspell for that matter. Except maybe Dismiss. God damnit. All jokes aside this card is way too slow and shouldn't even be played as a counter-measure to Storm spells.
Grade F
don't know if it's enough for you to push it into "niche" territory but I was excited to pick up a copy of this card for my Jeskai Sunforger toolbox deck, replacing Dismiss as the catch-all generic counterspell. There's no Storm in my meta, but I do like how it can handle anything on the stack--it can "counter" that Emrakul, The Aeons Torn or act as a Stifle for threats that are already on the board.
Edit: seems like I need to work on my reading skills
Summary Dismissal: You can dismiss this or any other 4 CMC counterspell for that matter. Except maybe Dismiss. God damnit. All jokes aside this card is way too slow and shouldn't even be played as a counter-measure to Storm spells.
Grade F
I don't know if it's enough for you to push it into "niche" territory but I was excited to pick up a copy of this card for my Jeskai Sunforger toolbox deck, replacing Dismiss as the catch-all generic counterspell. There's no Storm in my meta, but I do like how it can handle anything on the stack--it can "counter" that Emrakul, The Aeons Torn or act as a Stifle for threats that are already on the board.
Nah that's not going to change my tune about the card. I'd need to see something legitimately busted to even consider it It's straight unplayable as far as I'm concerned.
Just so we're clear, you're aware that Sunforger can't fetch Blue spells correct?
Greetings fellow multiplayer enthusiasts! My name is Prid3 and I'm a 15+ year veteran of the game who's been playing Magic: the Gathering since the year 2000. While I've followed and played the game at a competitive-level across every major duel format the bulk of my personal playtime has been spent at kitchen tables duking it out in large multiplayer matches. Be it Cube, Constructed or EDH I've played tens of thousands of hours of multiplayer Magic in my life and have since made it my goal to impart some of that knowledge and experience on to you. As such this set review is solely focused towards the multiplayer crowd with an emphasis on budget-minded, fair Magic that adheres to a Legacy-esque banned/restricted list. While I'll still touch on degenerate combos and unfair applications I understand that not everyone takes the game as seriously as my own circles and as such I try to balance my reviews to ensure that they're applicable to players of all levels. From turn 1 kills to turn 20 slugfests I'll do my best to keep these relevant for anyone and everyone who routinely sits down at a multiplayer table.
Before moving on I'll quickly touch on some important book-keeping notes that you should be made aware of before delving deeper into this set review. First, know that I never evaluate every single card in a new set. There's absolutely no reason to repeat "this card was designed for duel formats/Limited" hundreds of times so don't expect me to touch on chaff. I'll hit on what I consider to be the key multiplayer cards with an emphasis on the ones that you should make a concerted effort to acquire. Moreover, bear in mind that all ratings discussed in this evaluation should be taken with a grain of salt. It's virtually impossible to give a card a grade that accurately reflects its worth in Cube, Constructed and EDH and so for the purposes of this guide I slant it mostly towards Constructed. I'll touch on Cube and EDH whenever I feel that it's especially applicable but otherwise my primary emphasis will be on a card's 60-card Constructed applications. Finally, I'm not looking to pin down the perfect letter grade for every single card. I'm merely trying to provide you with a rough estimation of its overall worth.
Grading Scale:
A: Oppressive cards that completely warp the game around them. These are format definers that figure to dominate games in which they're left unchecked and crush adversaries who aren't employing similarly powered strategies. This makes them must-have competitive staples with limitless potential. Think Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Humility, Consecrated Sphinx, Sylvan Primordial, Repercussion.
B: Extremely formidable cards that will allow you to pull ahead of the pack. Winning decks should be clamoring to field them as they figure to significantly improve your overall win %. This makes them top-priority acquisition targets for players of all skill-levels. Think Syphon Mind, Earthquake, Wrath of God, Rite of Replication, Woodland Bellower.
C: Powerful cards that winning decks will want to play. A list full of C's won't crush a table but a solid foundation of them should be good enough to keep you competitive. Think Wight of Precinct Six, Clever Impersonator, Taurean Mauler, Thragtusk, Restoration Angel.
D: Marginal playables with which to flesh out your lists in the absence of reasonable alternatives. I strongly encourage that you to enlist substitutes if it's a realistic option since they're unlikely to yield impressive win %s.
F: Weak cards that wouldn't be played in an ideal world.
Niche: Immensely powerful-yet-narrow cards that are Bs/As in decks that actively want them and Ds/Fs everywhere else.
Sideboard: Stupendously powerful cards that you wouldn't maindeck against unknown adversaries but that have competitive applications in known metagames with defined threats.
+/-: Used to denote a better or worse N. That is, a B+ represents a strong B whereas C- implies a weak C.
Audio Set Review: Link to Playlist
This is my second audio set review ever and the first in over a year so it will probably be a bit rough. Please bear with me while I get the kinks worked out :).
Colorless
Decimator of the Provinces: As someone who's played against countless Craterhoof Behemoths in Cube, Constructed and EDH this strikes me as a total bomb that could see play in any number of Elf-ball/ramp/token archetypes. While the porker here is clearly a full tier below the Hoof-father his Overrun trigger is uncounterable and Emergence will be a reasonable upside a significant % of the time. This is especially evident when pairing him with creatures such as Noosegraf Mob, Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and Avenger of Zendikar as curving one of those into a Decimator + Beastmaster Ascension is going to end most games on the spot. Obviously the "on cast" trigger is significantly less abusable than Craterhoof Behemoth's since you can't effectively cheat the Decimator into play via cards such as Natural Order, Defense of the Heart and Tooth and Nail. +2/+2 is also strictly worse than what the Hoof-father provides (don't even humor arguments suggesting otherwise) and so the card is clearly a step below its predecessor. That being said insofar as your deck curves mana elves/tokens into Battlecruiser finishers then this is exactly where you want to be.
Grade B
Emrakul, the Promised End: "Target player loses the game" is a solid starting point for any card and the fact that it comes on a 13/13 evasive beater for as little as 5 mana is enough to entice even the harshest critics. This is especially true in formats such as 2HG where you realistically can't beat this card. Yes my friends, you do indeed control both turns. Yikes! Otherwise multiplayer formats tend to be characterized by board stalls, combo kills, mass removal, etc. and this is where cards like Emrakul shine. After all, she can force your opponents to waste their combo cards, chump attack their creatures into larger blockers, blow their removal/counters on their own spells, on and on and on. Obviously they'll get a Time Walk shortly thereafter but that will frequently be too little too late to make a difference. It's also important to note that her Mindslaver is an on-cast trigger which means that it still goes through even if Emmy herself gets countered. This makes her especially relevant vs combo and control decks who would still need a Stifle effect to avoid being Slaver'd out of the game. Moreover, she's the first creature-based Mindslaver which is relevant in a world of revival and recursion. Obviously you still have to cast her to get the trigger but the idea here is that you can pair her with something like Oversold Cemetery to continually steal turns. Otherwise she's a decent Reanimator target that dodges spot removal such as Swords to Plowshares and Doom Blade. She still goes down to a Wrath of God but depending on the interaction played in your meta that might not be a serious concern. Lastly, it's important to note that she's not really a 13 drop since you can reasonably cast her for around 8 in decks designed to support her. I'm not going to assume that most decks are going to have Tribal cards and you're probably not going to bin Planeswalkers, Artifacts and Enchantments every game but Land, Creature, Instant and Sorcery are all reasonable and you only need one more to bring her down to 8. Clearly her cost can be reduced to 5 under ideal scenarios and that will occur some % of the time but even if you think of her as a 7-8 drop that's still a reasonable average use-case.
Grade C
Eternal Scourge: This is the second Food Chain engine combo that we've seen thusfar (Misthollow Griffin being the other) and the fact that this one is both cheaper and colorless opens up many new deckbuilding possibilities. Clearly the idea here is to use Food Chain to exile and re-cast Eternal Scourge ad nauseam (netting 1 mana each iteration) and ultimately winning the game by chaining things like Fierce Empath into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or even using Goblin Recruiters, Goblin Matrons, Goblin Ringleaders to dump your library into play. You get the idea anyways. Whereas Elf/Goblin/etc. Food Chain decks can't afford to support a 4 CMC UU creature they can cast Eternal Scourge which is where the real excitement begins. Now you can employ powerful creature-based synergies to win fair games while still having backdoor outs to a one-two knockout punch that generates infinite mana (and hopefully an automatic win as a result). Otherwise Eternal Scourge "dodges" all spot removal, has immense synergy with Delve, makes Manipulate Fate insane, on and on and on. Clearly you would never play it as a generic 3 CMC threat but the Food Chain interaction alone is enough to make this a competitive playable. If you have no intention of acquiring Food Chain then it's basically an F so don't bother acquiring it but the card is bonkers if you're actively trying to break it.
Grade A/Niche
Vexing Scuttler: Given that this is the first colorless Archaeomancer ever printed it's conceivable that certain Black/White strategies could somehow employ it to use. One example is Oversold Cemetery which could abuse it to "infinitely" recur a card like Rise of the Dark Realms. Clearly you have to cast the Scuttler which immediately kills any and all "Living Death" style combos but insofar as you're recurring it to your hand then it'll work just fine. That being said you still have to pay mana cast said spell and since we're not talking about 12+ mana combos I can't imagine it ever finding a competitive home. Even in Cloudpost decks that still seems ambitious at best.
Otherwise I frequently promote synergies such as Archaeomancer/Mnemonic Wall + Whelming Wave/Evacuation/Crush of Tentacles in Big Blue Cloudpost archetypes and this is arguably a potential new addition to the archetype. At 8 CMC you're not exactly getting a discount but the body is sizable and it effectively utilizes the mass colorless mana that cards like Cloudpost produce. Ultimately I don't expect this to make the cut over Mnemonic Wall in the "best versions" of the deck but it's not unreasonable to swap in some Vexing Scuttlers if you're looking to jam some better blockers into your lists.
Grade F+/Niche
Closing Thoughts: Decimator of the Provinces is a no-brainer acquisition with countless competitive applications across every major MP format. Even as a budget Craterhoof Behemoth it's still a fantastic finisher for creature-based shells and it would behoove you to acquire some at some point. Otherwise Eternal Scourge is legitimately oppressive but only alongside Food Chain so unless you plan on acquiring the latter don't even bother giving the former a second look.
Bruna, the Fading Light, Gisela, the Broken Blade, Brisela, Voice of Nightmares: Bruna can recur a host of powerful Angels/Humans including hits such as Emeria Shepherd, Avacyn, Angel of Hope and Iona, Shield of Emeria. That being said I dislike the "on cast" trigger in this instance since it prevents any and all abuse with things like Emeria, the Sky Ruin and Emeria Shepherd. Emeria, the Sky Ruin crushes Counterspell decks to begin with making the uncoutnerability a (mostly) trivial upside that hinders more than helps on average. Otherwise you're paying 7 CMC for some weak stats and a condition trigger when something as simple as Loyal Retainers can typically accomplish the same goal for as little as 3 CMC. Gisela is a sweet Baneslayer Angel throwback but unfortunately those kinds of cards don't scale well at all in multiplayer environments. A medium-sized flier isn't going to win many games for you and she dies to basically any removal under the sun. Brisela is crazy powerful and dodges most spot removal but I still see a card with a relatively high opportunity cost that dies to any old Wrath of God. Clearly if you do manage to Merge into Brisela and dodge mass removal then she's fantastic but ultimately this isn't a combination that impresses me. I don't like either card for their standalone value and the prospect of assembling Voltron isn't tantalizing enough to sway my decision otherwise.
Gisela Grade D+
Bruna Grade D+
Collective Effort: While none of its modes offer significant value in a MP setting the Escalate cost is trivial and all 3 options are reasonable regardless of the format/number of players. After all, paying 3 mana to kill a creature, destroy an Enchantment and Crusade your team is a fantastic rate that most token/creature-based archetypes should feel reasonably happy to pay.
Grade D
Selfless Spirit: At power <= 2 and CMC <=3 this gets tagged by White's relevant recursion engines. This makes it a reasonable sideboard option for midrange strategies operating in metas filled with mass removal. Otherwise feel free to jam in your midrange Control decks that sport their own mass removal spells insofar as you're able to recur the little guy as needed. Clearly this isn't a 2 drop that you should ever field "just because" but insofar as you're looking to hate out mass removal it's a reasonable recursion option.
Grade Niche/Sideboard
Sigarda's Aid: Not much to say about this card other than "2 thumbs up." I would always play the first in my Equipment/Aura-based shells since both effects confer meaningful value and the card is cheap enough to fire off at any stage of the game. Circumventing the expensive Equip costs of things like Worldslayer seems fantastic but even if you're simply jamming Swords, Jitte, Bonehoard, Loxodon Warhammer etc. that's still perfectly fine too. Don't get hung-up on trying to cheat Argentum Armor or Heartseeker into play if you wouldn't otherwise field them. This clearly isn't a card that you want to run as a 4-of since it's worthless in multiples and loses value over time but as I previous explained I would always run the first in archetypes with a critical mass of Auras/Equipment.
Grade C/Niche
Subjugator Angel: This card is stupendously powerful in Blink decks and will largely obsolete jank such as Angel of the Dire Hour. No, I'm not joking. The crippling flaw of "Sunblast Angels" is that they're completely unable to force the issue and actively win the game in stalemate scenarios. That is, if people simply sit back and turtle-up then you're powerless to demolish them. On the other hand if you're able to combo Subjugator Angel with a Blink engine then you've effectively assembled Moat + Fervor since you're now in a position where creatures can't attack you and your opponents can't block. Also, can you just imagine blinking this thing with Sunblast Angel using cards like Eerie Interlude and Ghostly Flicker? Or even getting Archaeomancer in on that action? That, ladies and gentlemen, is utterly insane.
Now, clearly this card is unplayable jank outside of Blink decks and I'm not suggesting otherwise. That being said insofar as you're sleeving up Eerie Interludes and whatnot then rest assured that this is exactly what you want to jamming at your 6 slot. The card is Sun Titan levels of good when it's supported properly and that's utterly absurd.
Grade C+/Niche
Thalia, Heretic Cathar: When it comes to Stax cards such as these it's important to remember that I'm the kind of person who's perfectly willing to field cards such as Limited Resources, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Winter Orb, Tangle Wire, Static Orb, Cataclysm, Armageddon, etc. if it will significantly increase my probability of winning multiplayer games of Magic. As such when I assign them grades it's always under the assumption that I'm building a cohesive Prison deck seeking to prevent my adversaries from casting spells altogether. If you aren't willingto build those kinds of lists then that's totally fine but don't hold it against me if my grade doesn't meet your expectations simply because you're unwilling to properly support the card.
With that in mind I think that Thalia 2.0 is certainly powerful but unfortunately she's still a tier below something like Vryn Wingmare. She obviously destroys people trying to curve fetchlands into shocks/duals but at 3 CMC she frequently hits too late to effectively punish people for fielding them. Forcing creatures to ETBT is decent (it hoses Splinter Twin combo decks for example) but Stax isn't an aggro strategy by any means and so other than hosing certain infinite combos this isn't as relevant as it seems. Otherwise she doesn't effect Artifacts nor Basic Lands which means that many decks will still be able to curve out normally even with a Thalia in play. This is especially true against newer players with budget-minded decks. For all these reasons I don't expect her to be a major roleplayer in the White-based Stax archetype and can't imagine seeing her pop up as more than a 1-of. I don't mind the first since she's a solid blocker with a disruptive effect but ultimately we're not looking at a new competitive staple that will always make the final cut.
Grade B-
Thalia's Lancers: This card is ridiculous and I expect it to see a ton of play. As an EDH player I love seeing another tutor for Gaea's Cradle (or even Serra's Sanctum/Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx) and since Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Gaddock Teeg, Saffi Eriksdotter, Hokori, Dust Drinker, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Archangel Avacyn and many more are all competitive staples I can already tell that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy slinging this this. Other than nabbing hatebears and midrange beaters it's also a fantastic tutor for bombs such as Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Griselbrand, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur on and on and on making this a fantastic card at basically any stage of the game. Otherwise this thing is a total house in decks with blink/recursion effects which makes it perfect for all of those midrange White Control shells. Given that it even comes with a fantastic, defensive body there's absolutely nothing to dislike about this card (other than maybe its 5 CMC pricetag). 2 big thumbs up.
Grade B
Closing Thoughts: The standout purchases in my mind are Thalia's Lancers, Subjugator Angel and Sigarda's Aid. While none of them are "generic playables" in the sense that they can be slotted in any Wx shell they're still incredibly powerful and versatile for their cost and fill powerful, niche roles that can't easily be replicated. Thalia, Heretic Cathar is reasonable as a 1-of if you're a fan of Stax strategies but since the vast majority of casual players frown on Armageddon effects that one is slightly too narrow for the average player. All-in-all I'm content with White's haul from EMN since even though it didn't receive any bombs there's more than enough here to work with.
Coax from the Blind Eternities: I'm unhappy to see Wishes coming back. I loathe their casual applications and all of my theoretical multiplayer banned/restricted lists contain them. Don't get me wrong, Wishes are stupidly powerful Magic cards and most "good" decks should run full playsets with no questions asked. After all, a deck with 4x Living Wish and 4x Sylvan Primordial gets to play eight copies of Sylvan Primordial. "Oh but Prid3 what about deck construction rules and sideboards." Yeah no, sorry, none of that applies to kitchen table Magic. Read the rules; there are no sideboards in non-sanctioned games and cards that "you own from outside the game" comprise your entire collection. That is, you can definitely play a deck with 4x Llanowar Elves, 4x Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, 4x Shaman of Forgotten Ways, etc. and still have a ton more sitting in your collection to Living Wish for if desired. Are you starting to understand why I hate Wishes? Wishes are Demonic Tutors that bring "pay to win" consistency to decks. If you buy 8 of a card (as opposed to 4) then your decks get to play 8. Period. If you buy random cards that you wouldn't normally play in your decks but that you might Wish for (say Gaea's Herald or Dosan the Falling Leaf) then suddenly 100% of your Green decks have answers to Counterspells and the only thing that it costs you is money. More money = strictly better decks that have more access to relevant tools and options. They also hemorrhage time since it's perfectly legal to choose any card within your collection and suffice it to say that not everyone is kind enough to limit their selection to a pre-set "sideboard" that they have at their convenience. Digging through boxes/binders isn't fast or fun for anyone involved and there's no rule preventing people from doing so. Wishes are horrendous to play against for all these reasons and more and, again, I would always choose to ban them if given the option.
Rant aside Coax from the Blind Eternities is an extremely powerful Magic card. As in many orders of magnitude more powerful and relevant than something like Sarkhan's Triumph. The biggest difference between the two is that with Coax you don't actually have to play the cards in your deck. Given that it still enables you to nab any Eldrazi spell in your collection we're talking about an extremely powerful effect that isn't remotely comparable. After all, it can fetch Endbringer for removal/card advantage, Skittering Invasion for ramp, All is Dust for mass removal, any of the Eldrazi Titans as finishers, on and on and on. It also doesn't exile itself unlike most Wishes which means that you're able to recur it with things like Snapcaster Mage, Mizzix's Mastery, Archaeomancer, Past in Flames, etc. This enables you to play streamlined decks full of 4-ofs that still have access to toolbox threats/answers. The result is a deck that's not only consistent but flexible and versatile as well. It's the best of all worlds at the cost of a bit of speed.
To anyone looking for an obvious application think about a generic Cloudpost decks. This is your card draw, your removal, your finisher or even your Battlecruiser. Those decks frequently want to be pairing Mnemonic Wall with mass bounce anyways and having another relevant spell to recur is always sweet.
Grade B
Curious Homunculus/Voracious Reader: Much like Goblin Electromancer, Jace's Sanctum and Mizzix of the Izmagnus this is the type of card that can easily win games the turn after you untap with it. Chaining cheap cantrips into big rituals, powerful engines, broken recursion and bomby win conditions is an extremely fast, consistent and reliable way to clear a table out insofar as you're able to assemble your key components before being hated-out. The problem with Curious Homunculus is that it's both conditional and a creature. At least with Goblin Electromancer you're frequently able to cast it and win on the same turn but the same can never be said for this card. As such it will never be a top-tier playable in the Storm archetype but the effect is still powerful enough to earn some semblance of a grade.
Grade D
Displace: Given that Ghostly Flicker already has competitive applications it's safe to say that this is a very real Magic card. Blinking Peregrine Drake + Mnemonic Wall for infinite mana/Storm/etc. enables any number of combo kills and since Blue has a whole hose of free spells and recursive tools assembling the right components isn't especially difficult. Otherwise these kinds of cards blank removal, function as a pseudo Divinations (assuming that you use it to abuse ETB triggers), remove negative auras, on and on and on. Clearly its primary use should be as a degenerate combo engine but if you're forced to Evoke a Mulldrifter and Blink it alongside a Sea Gate Oracle then that's perfectly fine too.
Grade C-
Docent of Perfection: Conceptually I like the idea of pairing this card with powerful Wizards and spells but in practice I can't envision a practical way to implement it. "Spells matter" decks filled with creatures such as Young Pyromancer, Thing in the Ice, Guttersnipe, Talrand, Sky Summoner, Disciple of the Ring, etc. typically struggle in mutiplayer environments for a multitude of reasons. They're extremely soft to interaction, none of their spells are relevant when they don't have an engine in play, they don't field many blockers, they have limited forms of interaction, they're bad at pressuring life totals, etc. While the creatures themselves are arguably playable in a vacuum I've yet to face a single version of this archetype that could consistently win multiplayer games of Magic. Obviously the oppressive Storm decks that abuse rituals and mass recursion can legitimately seal the deal but the creature-based versions inevitably lose their key threats to removal and flounder around until they're put out of their misery. You simply can't win a game of multiplayer Magic by jamming a Guttersnipe and hoping that it miraculously survives while you cast 10 spells. Doesn't happen.
The other archetype that I had in mind for the Docent is clearly the Azami, Lady of Scrolls Wizards deck. The problem? Mind Over Matter is also a 5 drop and unlike the Docent it literally wins the game on the spot when it resolves. After all, it combos with Azami, Lady of Scrolls to draw your entire library and which point you can jam Laboratory Maniac for an on-the-spot win against any number of players. As much as I want to like the idea of slotting another powerful Wizard lord into the archetype the last thing that the tribe needed is another 5 drop.
Grade C-
Identity Thief: As much as I love me a Clone this card is total trash. It does nothing the turn that you cast it, it's worthless on defense, it's actively bad at interacting with a huge % of multiplayer threats, etc. The one and only use for it is abusing your own ETB triggers which isn't remotely competitive enough to justify fielding it.
Grade F
Imprisoned in the Moon: I've been woefully unimpressed with Song of the Dryads and a significantly weaker version doesn't entice me in the slightest. Bluntly put you're paying too much for too little since axing a creature at Sorcery-speed for 3 CMC is a heinous rate that you should never pay. Yes, it hits problematic lands and/or PWers as well but I can only take so much solace in that. The only truly effectively niche that this card serves is that you can field it in EDH to turn opposing Commanders into lands. That's about it. Even then I still think that this effect is largely overrated but I can't deny the fact that some EDH decks struggle to win without their Commander and that removing lands/Enchantments is usually difficult and/or time consuming.
Grade Niche
Lunar force: This will undoubtedly get tested in Sun Titan decks and Zur the Enchanter will give it a whirl in EDH but until we get an opportunity to play with it it's impossible to determine its competitive viability. As much as I'd like to offer more insight on the subject we've never had a competitive version of this effect until now (Hesitation isn't a powerful magic card) and this isn't the type of card that you can rate in a vacuum. The base card is terrible but the synergies are insane so at this point it's still anyone's guess.
Grade Niche
Mausoleum Wanderer: Believe it or not this is legitimately a competitive staple for the Edric, Spymaster of Trest/Bident of Thassa/Coastal Piracy archetype that fields tons of 1/1 fliers for 1 and eventually chains Time Walks together until it wins. When you connect with Faerie Miscreant/Edric, Spymaster of Trest and Prowl out Notorious Throng it's basically an auto-win.
Grade Niche
Mind's Dilation: I'm legitimately confused as to why this card isn't generating any hype whatsoever. Last time I checked Lurking Predators was bonkers and a Blue alternative that hits every nonland card is going to absolutely crush tables. You're obviously at the mercy of what your opponents are fielding but I'm not one to assume that they'll all be on decks full of nonsense. No matter how you slice it it's a fantastic form of lategame card advantage that will all-but ensure long-run victory when games drag out. Moreover, unlike Lurking Predators it doesn't impose strict deckbuilding requirements which means that you can blindly jam it into your Ux shells without having to worry about land/creature/spell counts. Even if you conservatively assume a 50% hit rate (which is a low-ball figure by any standard) that's still an immense amount of value to accrue over time. After all, this triggers from the first spell cast by each opponent each turn which includes removal used in combat, counter magic, EOT draw spells, on and on and on. You can't "cheat the system" by operating at instant-speed or anything. With respect to the 7 CMC pricetag it's obviously high and the threat of losing your Enchantment to removal is stressful but neither of those concerns are compelling enough to change my stance on the card. It's going to be a fantastic addition to any Blue decks that can reasonably cast it even if you only run 1-2 as lategame finishers. Otherwise if you want to cheat it out with things like Academy Rector then that's perfectly fine too since this card will just plain win games on its own. Beyond that this is a card that excels in any format (Cube, Constructed, EDH), that can legitimately win games on its own, that asks nothing of you (other than casting it) and that's playable in any Ux shell. If that's not a home-run then I don't know what is.
Grade B+
Summary Dismissal: You can dismiss this or any other 4 CMC counterspell for that matter. Except maybe Dismiss. God damnit. All jokes aside this card is way too slow and shouldn't even be played as a counter-measure to Storm spells.
Grade F
Take Inventory: A sorcery-speed Accumulated Knowledge isn't fantastic but since AK still sees fringe Vintage play I can't in good conscience completely overlook this card. It has immense synergy with Intuition but even as a generic draw spell it's still perfectly playable insofar as your list has a critical mass of cantrips and card draw. The first two that you cast in a given game aren't great but at 3+ you're sitting pretty. While that won't naturally occur with any frequency if you list includes 4x Ponder, 4x Trade Secrets, etc. then finding them in large numbers isn't especially difficult at which point the card is relatively competitive.
The primary reason why I can't give Take Inventory a high grade is because Accumulated Knowledge is strictly better and inexpensive to acquire. It's a very reasonable card in a vacuum but there's realistically no incentive to actively purchase/play it.
Grade C
Unsubstantiate: Remand sees serious amounts of competitive play in MP Storm decks as a means to double your Tendrils of Agony damage. Before anyone cries "win more" show me a list that reliably deals 60ish damage "the fair way" and then we'll talk. Unsubstantiate is clearly an order of magnitude weaker than Remand but for budget-minded/EDH decks having an alternative is always relevant. The fact that it doubles as permission/removal for hatebears is semi-relevant since you can't exactly win through an Eidolon of Rhetoric. Still, its primary use is to bounce your Storm spells to double their effectiveness since the first cast is rarely good enough to get the job done.
Grade Niche
Wharf Infiltrator: Even if we ignore graveyard-based synergies Looters are incredibly valuable assets in a game like Magic as they significantly improve the overall quality of your hands. After all, the net result of looting is that your hand either improves or stays the same at the insignificant cost of milling a random card from your library. Moreover, it's virtually always beneficial to loot when your deck has graveyard-based synergies (such as Treasure Cruise) which is why you'll see experts of the game looting even when they have 0 cards in hand (effectively milling a random card). With respect to Wharf Infiltrator itself there are definitely some finer points that I do want to discuss. First, the creature text is pure gravy and shouldn't concern anyone in the slightest. This is still a totally reasonable 2 drop even in decks with 0 creatures. Clearly we're happy if we can sometimes discard creatures and turn them into tokens but by no means is it required. Your 4x Take Inventory 4x Treasure Cruise list should still happily play this card and feel actively good about it. Otherwise I want to stress that that while this card is undeniably less consistent than Merfolk Looter let's be reasonable with our concerns. The probability that 100% of your opponents will have 1/X blockers is relatively low which means that you should be able to consistently rely on the looting effect. That isn't to say that Wharf Infiltrator's better than Merfolk Looter in creature-light decks but in formats such as Cube and EDH you don't have the luxury of jamming them in large quantities. The biggest downside of this card, in my mind, is that it must attack someone and deal damage. I can say with certainty that I would rather have the card read "you may have it deal no damage, if you do then you may loot" than the current text. After all, the natural, rational reaction to being hurt is to prevent it from happening again in the future. That's basic human behavior. This "X factor" is the primary reason why I couldn't see this card ever supplanting Merfolk Looter even in creature-based decks that could reasonably expect to churn out a handful of tokens.
Grade C-
Closing Thoughts: Mind's Dilation is a clear-cut competitive staple that has countless applications regardless of your preferences as a player/deckbuilder. Blue has plenty of other relevant options to consider but none are broad enough to earn a generic "seal of approval" from me. I still encourage you to acquire and build-around most of these cards if those are the kinds of archetypes that you enjoy brewing but for unless you have a specific list already in mind odds are you won't have an easy time finding homes for them all.
Collective Brutality: Reanimator strategies are usually oppressive if left unchecked which is where cards such as Deathrite Shaman and Force of Will come into play. This is a cheap discard outlet that simultaneously answers both permission and hatebears which makes it an ideal solution to these types of problematic answers.
Grade Sideboard
Cryptbreaker: While I appreciate the fact that relevant 1-2 drops are being printed this one probably isn't going to make the final cut in many lists. As a draw engine it's conditional and vulnerable to removal in a color with access to plenty of alternatives which aren't. As a "Pack Rat" it doesn't exactly spiral out of control if left unchecked and even as a discard outlet it's extremely slow and unable to abuse multiple discards. Whereas cards such as Tortured Existence and Necromancer's Stockpile can pitch multiple Veilborn Ghouls (or whatever) this is a one-and-done deal. It's cute and clever and I wouldn't blame anyone for fielding it as a 1-2 of in their Zombie decks but clearly we're not exactly looking at the next Relentless Dead or anything. This isn't how you want to fuel your Contamination and don't go tricking yourself into thinking that "it helps your curve by giving you early game plays." 1 mana 1/1s and 2 mana 2/2s may be cards but they certainly aren't relevant which is all that matters when you're trying to win games. The most compelling reason to field this little guy is that when you do manage to swarm out and dodge mass removal then he's a reasonable draw engine that can accrue significant card advantage over time. That makes him solid but not outstanding by any means.
Grade D+
Liliana, the Last Hope: As much as I love her -2 her +1 is heinous and her -7 is way too slow and unreliable even in Death Cloud decks and whatnot. I don't expect her to be a competitive role-player as a result. I'm not even enticed to test her in Dark Ritual decks given that you'll only be able to tick her down once before starting to tick her back up again. You may as well jam a Phyrexian Arena into play at that point. If her +1 were a +2 or if her -2 were a -1 then I'd be significantly more inclined to give her a whirl but as it sits the numbers are far too conservative to warrant consideration.
Grade D
Noosegraf Mob: As someone who thoroughly enjoys fielding threats such as Forgotten Ancient, Doubling Season and Ghave, Guru of Spores this is a card that definitely piques my interest. Paying 6 mana for 10/10 worth of stats across 5 bodies is powerful but at the same time it's hardly game-winning in a multiplayer setting. As a "budget Grave Titan" that gets recurred by effects such as Unholy Grotto, Relentless Dead, Lord of the Undead, etc. it's certainly playable but only in casual circles as a marginal finisher. As such you'll typically want to abuse the Zombie swarm in order to build something that's greater the sum of its parts. In that sense I highly recommend fielding it alongside beaters such as Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and Avenger of Zendikar in decks that have access to bomby finishers such as Beastmaster Ascension and Craterhoof Behemoth and mass card draw such as Shamanic Revelation. It's also nutty with things like Zulaport Cutthroat, Grave Pact and Purphoros, God of the Forge so clearly there's hope for this monstrosity.
By the way, I've read discussions about comboing Noosegraf Mob with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed but why wouldn't you simply play Triskelion at that point? What's better, a board full of Zombies or infinite damage to creatures/players? Doesn't seem particularly close to me.
Grade C
Oath of Liliana: Without getting into every possible corner-case the only advantage that this card offers over Merciless Executioner/Fleshbag Marauder is that it adds 1 more devotion for Gray Merchant of Asphodel. Since the creature and/or Zombie tag will matter significantly more often this isn't an especially interesting card to someone like me. If you desperately wanted a 3rd Edict for EDH/Cube it the option now exists but even then I'd still rather field Slum Reaper for the creature tag and/or GY synergies. Just so we're clear, even in decks with PWers a 2/2 Zombie is unlikely to matter and realistically won't be able to protect them from your adversaries. The card is certainly reasonable and in a vacuum I would be singing its praises but I don't see any compelling reason to acquire them over Fleshbag Marauders given that the GY synergy, the creature card type and/or the Zombie subtype are all going to be significantly more relevant the vast majority of the time. If you're somehow playing 8ish PWers then go nuts but otherwise just stick to the alternatives.
Grade C
Rise from the Grave: "Any" graveyard revival is always handy to have in a MP setting and the bonus Zombie tag can sometimes matter. That being said this card is laughably weak compared to alternatives such as Reanimate, Animate Dead, Dance of the Dead and Necromancy and shouldn't be played outside of budget and/or card availability concerns.
Grade D
Skirsdag Supplicant: Urborg Syphon-Mage sees next-to-no play and this card is strictly worse as far as I'm concerned. It's obviously slightly more mana efficient from a straight burn perspective but I think that you should almost always be willing to spring for the "Syphon Soul" instead.
Grade D
Succumb to Temptation: Dark Confidant, Night's Whisper, Sign in Blood, Read the Bones, Phyrexian Arena, Necropotence, the list of vastly superior alternatives scrolls on and on. Being instant-speed is certainly handy in some situations but it's not worth an entire mana.
Grade D
Tree of Perdition: Marginal 2HG/EDH playable and/or lifegain hoser. Much like Sorin Markov I expect it to be overrated (especially since this version isn't even guaranteed to activate) but at the same I appreciate why casual players would be excited to field a "4 mana deal 27 put an 0/40 blocker into play." Ultimately it wins fewer games than most realize but it makes for fond memories which is good enough for many Magicians out there. What I will say is that this card does benefit immensely from Lightning Graves et al. (which are obviously EDH staples) and since Black is the king of recursion it's extremely easy to recur this badboy as needed. Given that the same cannot be said about Sorin Markov this card fills a niche role that doesn't currently exist outside of the Esper colors.
EDH/2HG Grade C
Closing Thoughts: Even as a die-hard Black I still don't see any compelling reason to acquire any of EMN's Black offerings. Oath of Liliana is solid in a vacuum but I can't imagine ever fielding it over the Fleshbag Marauder/Merciless Executioner alternatives so why bother shelling out cash for them? Nothing else is even note-worthy and I don't expect anything other than Tree of Perdition to see any reasonable amount of play. Not that Tree is a "must have" or anything, I'm simply well aware of the fact that casual players overrate the "Sorin Markov" ability in formats such as EDH. Disappointing but not unsurprising.
Bedlam Reveler: This card is so close to having competitive applications but unfortunately it's a hair short of getting there. At its peak it's a 2 mana draw 3 that can be Twinflamed/Heat Shimmered which is fantastic place to be. This is especially true given that Red spell-based decks typically win using cards like Past in Flames and Mizzix's Mastery which ensures that the discard aspect of the card is still manageable. While hitting 6 instants/sorceries isn't an easy task it's still doable in Izzet shells that pair cantrips with loot spells and mass card draw. From there it's trivially easy to assemble a whack of rituals to power out the aforementioned mass recursion devices at which point you can easily win the game using oppressive engines, Storm finishers and Battlecruisers. The upside of a 2 mana draw 3 isn't quite powerful enough to offset how weak this card is early on and unlike Treasure Cruise et al. this one doesn't trigger off of fetchlands, creatures, etc. which will make the effect significantly less consistent. Also, while the discard isn't a deal-breaker it's not exactly beneficial either so let's not to get ahead of ourselves and pretend as though it's all upside. Much like Ideas Unbound I fully expect it to see some amount of competitive play but overall it strikes me being slightly too clunky to boast any generic applications. After all, the 3/4 Prowess body will matter for duels but not for multiplayer and you pay way too much for a body that you realistically can't abuse. It might see competitive duel play but it won't quite get there in multiplayer.
Grade C
Collective Defiance: Please stop calling this trash a "Wheel." If you can't curve a bunch of fast mana into it and draw a fresh hand each and every time then it doesn't have any competitive applications. Period.
Grade F
Hanweir Battlements, Hanweir Garrison, Hanweir, the Writhing Township: Hanweir Battlements is a fantastic land that will see competitive play regardless of whether or not it's paired with Hanweir Garrison. The ability to grant Haste to creatures such as Goblin Welder, Metalworker, Kuldotha Forgemaster, Inferno Titan, Hellkite Tyrant, Scourge of the Throne, Balefire Dragon on and on and on is simply amazing and the card will see tons of play as a result. The vast majority of my Red decks already already field Flamekin Village for this reason alone and a second version that ETBU (but that only taps for colorless mana obviously) is a welcome addition to the clan.
Otherwise I think we can all agree that Hanweir, the Writhing Township is a decent beater that puts an extremely quick clock on anyone who's fallen behind on board. 13 Hasted power is no joke, especially when it's attached to 3 bodies. It's clearly not a top-tier finisher by any means but it's certainly good enough to kill a player or two on occasion putting it somewhere in the realm of a "Myr Battlesphere."
With that in mind just how good is Hanweir Garrison? I've playtested similar creatures in the past since there's a whole host of 3 CMC threats that generate value insofar as they connect with an opponent. A great example is Thada Adel, Acquisitor which is extremely competitive in Cube/EDH as an eater of Sol Rings but a more recent example would be something along the lines of Jeskai Infiltrator which is mostly unplayable by comparison. As a standalone card I'm inclined to slot Hanweir Garrison into the "unplayable" category since I generally dislike creatures that have "must attack" written on them in multiplayer and this one is no exception. They incite retribution and are utterly worthless when you're behind which aren't great places to be in general. That being said the upside of this card is relatively high and churning out bodies for things like Ogre Battledriver and Purphoros, God of the Forge can be messed-up when you're hitting a open target. People miss land drops, don't curve out, have their threats removed, etc. and so it's not uncommon to swing in multiple times unimpeded with these kinds of threats every now and then. While this generally wouldn't be enough to push a card into the "playable" category remember that we're legitimately happy to play Hanweir Battlements in virtually 100% of Red decks and so we do have to take the Hanweir, the Writhing Township synergy into account. This obviously kills the card for Cube/EDH play but in Constructed it's just barely good enough to get it into the "I'll always run at least one" range. You don't want to run 4 or anything but the first is fine for the potential to go big at some during your games.
Hanweir Battlements Grade B
Hanweir Garrison Grade D
Harmless Offering: This card is unplayable trash in Cube/EDH/multiplayer outside of extremely niche formats/strategies such as 2HG and Zedruu the Greathearted EDH. After all, assembling 2+ card combos to occasionally defeat single adversaries is both heinously weak and extremely unfun to play with and against. Why you would ever want to subject yourself to playing a kingmaker deck is beyond me. Since I couldn't care less about casual nonsense such as Zedruu EDH that realistically only leaves us with 2HG to analyze. Given the existence of cards such as Donate and Demonic Pact there's a multitude of 2-card kill packages available using these kinds of cards. Moreover since you're in "Grixis" you have access to Blue/Black tutors/draw spells which means that consistency shouldn't be a major concern either. That being said it's unfortunate that Illusions of Grandeur doesn't seal the deal in 2HG where players start with 30 life and since Demonic Pact kills extremely slowly it's at least a tier below other combo decks. Its power-level will continue to rise as Wizards prints additional "you lose the game" permanents but until then I don't see a compelling reason to go deep on Harmless Offering.
2HG Grade Niche
Mirrorwing Dragon: Zada, Hedron Grinder 2.0 has arrived which is perfect for bringing additional consistency to the strategy. This variation even dissuades spot removal insofar as your opponents have creatures themselves. For those wondering how these kinds of cards work the idea is typically to flood the board with tokens, jam one of these and chain things like Crimson Wisps until you draw your deck and assemble some premeditated victory condition. It's usually something along the lines of chaining a whack of Berserks, Invigorates and/or Temur Battle Rages then smashing the table for millions. My issue with these kinds of cards has always been that they force you to jump through too many hoops before you're able to extract meaningful value from them. Let's assume that our goal is to curve token generators into Mirrorwing Dragon into some sort of payoff. That's all fine and dandy when it works but what happens when you're not goldfishing against sacks of potatoes? What happens when your board gets Wrathed, if you don't draw your Dragon or it gets countered/killed/etc., you don't draw your payoff, etc.? Whereas a card like Purphoros, God of the Forge removes the need for payoff cards and simply rewards you for playing a bunch of token generators why needlessly jump through that third hoop for a weaker, less consistent gameplan?
The only decent application for this card that I could think of would be to slot it as your 5 drop in decks filled with creatures that have powerful ETB triggers supported with spells such as Twinflame and Heat Shimmer. That way all of your cards work all of the time and you're not required to draw them in the right sequence in order to extract value from them. Even if your Dragons die, no big deal, simply target your other creatures with your spells. Obviously if you want those ETB triggers to be things like Pia and Kiran Nalaar and Siege-Gang Commander then that opens the door for some busted sequences but the idea here is that all of your cards have standalone value and so you're never unhappy to simply Twinflame any other random threats in your list. Maybe Dualcaster Mage for example ;)?
Grade D+
Nahiri's Wrath: Until they print a Boros Reckoner that effects "each opponent" I don't expect this card to have any competitive applications.
Grade D
Shreds of Sanity: A double Regrowth in Red is extremely powerful and this is easily its most competitive offering from the set. Don't get bogged-down by the fact that it's a 3 mana 2-for-2 because in the context of a spell-based combo deck this is the type of effect that can legitimately win games on the spot. Recurring a Dark Ritual/Rite of Flame/Seething Song and Yawgmoth's Will/Mizzix's Mastery will routinely enable you to win within the next few turns and I'm extremely excited to test this card in various Storm brews as a result. This is a must-have for Storm aficionados.
Grade B
Stromkirk Occultist: Much like Sin Prodder from the previous set I don't expect this card to see any play. Even in decks that can pitch it to Faithless Looting and/or clear blockers with burn I cannot stand the idea of fielding a card advantage engine that actively forces a reaction from my opposition. Whenever I'm playing a simple midrange/control/combo/ramp deck I want to draw as little attention to myself as possible and hitting people for 3 is never part of the plan. That forces removal, retribution, unwanted attention on and on and on. Why not simply field a card like Outpost Siege which is not only more durable but infinitely less combative? Just so we're clear, I understand that these kinds of kinds do scale decently well in multiplayer given that you can usually prey on players having a bad draw/game. Kicking the player who's down is typically a low risk, medium reward play that you should usually take advantage of. Even then I still don't recommend fielding these kinds of card advantage engines because they rarely improve your overall win %. This one strikes me as being especially weak given that it virtually has "must attack" printed on it (unless you want play a 3/2 for 2-3 in multiplayer) and since the upside realistically isn't there I don't see any compelling argument to force a reaction from someone for the sole purpose of drawing cards.
Grade D
Thermo-Alchemist: Guttersnipe now has a brother-in-arms which should make that archetype slightly more consistent and resilient. It's also relevant to note that this card is bonkers with Jeskai Ascendancy which literally doubles its damage while also providing it with a steady stream of fodder. Whenever possible try to pair these kinds of cards with plenty of cheap counters, cantrips and mass card draw since you want to win over the course of 2-3 turns whenever possible. This decreases your probability of being hated out by pressure/removal since you will be drawing heat from the rest of the table and it's not as though your spells are well-suited to protecting you in general.
Grade C
Closing Thoughts: Hanweir Battlements is the only reasonable playable of the lot. Everything else is too niche, too weak or too conditional to justify acquiring. As per usual I'm disappointed but not surprised to see Red get the shaft given Wizard's propensity to avoid pushing the color in any way, shape or form.
Eldritch Evolution: As much as it pains me to see people buying-out Allosaurus Rider with dreams of cheating Griselbrand into play this is still a card that you should be excited about. After all, curving Tasigur, the Golen Fang into Griselbrand is a "real" sequence and its only one of many that will undoubtedly make this card insane. "Bad Birthing Pod, bad Natural Order" people constantly compare it cards that are horrendously degenerate (if-not banned in some formats) as if that some how detracts from its power-level? Really? This card has significantly more potential than Chord of Calling and that card sees more than enough competitive play to convince me that this will likely be a key roleplayer for years to come. Curving Wood Elves/Reclamation Sage into Seedborn Muse/Prophet of Kruphix is absurd and converting 4-5 drops into Primeval Titans/Sylvan Primordials is disgusting. I realize that tutors are boring and make for linear games that play out the same way each and every time (contrary to popular belief) but you can't argue with their results and this one is definitely on the competitive side of the spectrum. It won't supplant the likes of Green Sun's Zenith and Survival of the Fittest but I can assure that it will hold its own fighting alongside them. This is a must-have competitive staple across all major MP archetypes.
Grade A
Emrakul's Influence, Ulvenwald Observer: Green has come a long way and no longer needs to play with weak, conditional card draw engines such as these.
Grade F+
Gnarlwood Dryad, Permeating Mass: While I appreciate the fact that these kinds of cards function as stellar early-game blockers don't lose sight of the fact that Walls don't win games of Magic. If I'm going to run Green 1 drops I want them to be things like Carpet of Flowers that meaningfully advance my board and gameplan. If you desperately want more early-game defense then so be it but make no mistake that ramp wins games of Magic whereas Walls do not.
Grade D
Foul Emissary: Value 3 drop that you can Birthing Pod into and out of without hesitation, tutor up with Woodland Bellower, recur with Sun Titan, on and on and on. Is it better than Eternal Witness, Fierce Empath, Tireless Tracker, etc.? Not really no, you would never play more than 1, but at the same time I think that it would be foolish to completely overlook this effect.
Grade D/Niche
Ishkanah, Grafwidow: As someone who loves curving Prossh, Skyraider of Kher into Avenger of Zendikar I'm not unhappy to see something sweet to help fill out the list at 5 CMC. Jundy token decks that curve army-in-a-can threats into powerful finishers are incredibly satisfying to pilot, especially when supported with Red bombs and busted card draw. Otherwise Black offers Zulaport Cutthroat style drainers, card draw, removal, etc. which makes for a very and powerful archetype overall. The Grafwidow here clearly needs a bit of support to shine but insofar as you can reliably meet the Delirium requirement the card seems reasonable enough to make the cut even if it's only as a 1-of. A bit of extra reach never hurts since flying defense is always nice and otherwise any 4 bodies are fine when you emphasize quantity over quality.
Grade D+
Noose Constrictor: Free discard outlet for the The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage combo (or any other combo that requires a free discard outlet for that matter). Potentially relevant for Modern versions of the archetype, EDH, etc.
Grade Niche
Primal Druid: Whenever I play Birthing Pod decks I typically field 4x Viridian Emissary and 1x Sylvan Ranger. Primal Druid is strictly better than the Ranger as far as I'm concerned and so this seems like an easy swap to me. The lists also usually play some split of Innocent Bloods and/or Fleshbag Marauders and you can clearly see how these 2 -> 3 curves can you put you in a great place.
Grade Niche
Splendid Reclamation: When they first spoiled this card I knew that it had been mistranslated since it read "each land" as opposed to "each Basic land." Laughable right? That would have been utterly ridiculous and heinously broken. Just imagine that for a second. What's our worst-case scenario? We play a deck with 10 Fetchlands and it's an Explosive Vegetation that grabs duals/shocks/tangos/etc. That's our floor. That is, our nightmare outcome is a staple ramp spell that already sees reasonable amounts of play. Best-case scenario we pair it with self-mill, MLD, Dredgers, etc. at which point the card is stupidly broken. Well, good thing we got that mess sorted out with the correct translation. Time to move on.
Wait.
Hang on a second.
O.O
No, really, what? How is this a real magic card? Are you seriously saying that I get to play Crop Rotations, Tranquil Thickets, Realms Uncharted, etc. and have them be pure card advantage? My Fetchlands get to pull double or even triple duty? When I Dredge my Life from the Loam, pitch a land to Mox Diamond, activate my Knight of the Reliquary, etc. it's pure gravy? I'll take 10! This card is bonkers and see endless amount of play across every major multiplayer format. There's no shortage of ways to transform it into a 4 mana Boundless Realms and having that much power on such a cheap card is going to revolutionize certain archetypes.
Grade A
Closing Thoughts: As always Green makes out like a bandit with multiple top-tier playables. Both Eldritch Evolution and Splendid Reclamation are disgustingly powerful Magic cards with countless combo/synergy applications that figure to see an immense amount of play as a result. They're extremely safe investments from a play-ability standpoint and avid Green mages would do well to acquire them.
Gisa and Geralf: A 4/4 for 4 with 2 relevant upsides is going to be good enough for most metas and the power-ceiling for G&G is surprisingly high in removal-light spheres. A large % of casual decks can't beat Fleshbag Marauder/Gray Merchant of Asphodel loops and let's not forget that converting Sidisi, Undead Vizier into a string of Demonic Tutors can be quite back-breaking as well. Otherwise self-mill is fantastic when your deck has cards like Unholy Grotto and Treasure Cruise and the 4/4 body is typically going to halt most 1-3 drops in their tracks making this a solid addition to any UB Control shell employing some number of Zombies.
Grade C+
Grim Flayer: The comments that I've read pertaining to this card have left me scratching my head in disbelief. What is it about self-mill that turns otherwise reasonable individuals into bumbling buffoons? People do realize that this is strictly better than a 2 mana 2/2 that Scrys 3 when it deals combat damage to a player right? Surely people haven't forgotten that Volrath's Stronghold, Animate Dead, Deep Analysis, Treasure Cruise, etc. are cards have they? Also, the Delirium ability is incredibly relevant because it enables you to attack opponents with inadequate blockers and it only takes one to get in for real damage + significant amounts of self-mill. This is a "Dark Confidant" that will routinely hit play early on and provide significant value for a huge % of the game.
Grade B+
Tamiyo, Field Researcher: Any PWer that combos with Doubling Season to win the game on the spot is A-OK in my books and a free Ancestral Recall + Omniscience certainly qualifies. Otherwise her +1 works off of any combat damage (not just player damage) and her -2 can nail big mana rocks or scary beaters for an extended period of time. Clearly her -2 is on the weaker side of the spectrum in a multiplayer setting but her +1 is solid and her ultimate is game-winning and so I'm looking forward to testing her in various Bant Elfball/Stax/Prison/Pillow-Fort strategies. This is the type of PWer that can legitimately make it in multiplayer and I can't stress just how stupidly broken that ultimate of hers is. If you've never cast a Omniscience before let me assure that it doesn't read "you sometimes win the game" or "you usually win the game." No, that sucker triggers the "scoop phase" faster than you can blink and there's no two ways about it.
Grade C+
Ulrich of the Krallenhorde, Ulrich, Uncontested Alpha: The name is certainly fitting given that this is the uncontested worst card in the set. Not because it's the weakest but rather because it's the most blatant "screw you" to casual players that I've personally ever seen. The kitchen table community has been pushing for a Legendary Werewolf for Commander since original Innistrad and this is a slap in the face to all of the loyal fans who've been patiently waiting for an Alpha to lead the pack. Of all the things that they could have printed they settled on this do-nothing pile of garbage that literally brings nothing to the archetype. That is, not only is the card itself stone unplayable but it doesn't even reward you for playing Werewolf tribal. The only boxes that it ticks are "it's a Werewolf" and "it's legendary" because there's literally nothing else even worth noting. People are still going to play it because "flavour" but why not throw them a bone and give them the card that they actually wanted? Something along the lines of "your werewolves flip when they ETB and stay flipped" or some other nonsense. I'll never build a janky tribal deck, I'm not a game designer, I don't care about flavour, I don't care about tribes, I only play to win on and and on and on but even I'm disappointed by this pathetic excuse of a card. Your fans deserved better than this Wizards.
Wizard's Grade F
Closing Thoughts: Grim Flayer is one of the most powerful MP 2 drops that we've seen in a long time and I would personally play it in any BGx graveyard-based archetype. Since that encompasses the vast majority of competitive Golgari/Sultai/Abzan shells (especially in EDH) suffice it to say that I'm looking forward to jamming this badboy in dozens of archetypes.
Cryptolith Fragment: 3 CMC ramp that ETBT and that only bumps one mana is about as weak as it gets. Mana of any color is nice and the lifeloss aspect could be relevant in some scenarios but ultimately this will never supplant cards like Fellwar Stone.
Grade D
Soul Separator: Cool card, cool flavour, cool interaction with Sun Titan but unfortunately not remotely playable. People have suggested things like Colossus of Akros and Lord of Extinction and tons of other random jank but I've yet to see a compelling reason to include this card in a deck if your goal is to win multiplayer games of Magic. After all, the thing both costs 8 mana and sacrifices itself so no matter how you slice it you're never doing anything remotely oppressive with this thing.
Grade D+
Stitcher's Graft: Card is unplayable. With that out of the way I do want to plug Grafted Wargear to anyone who isn't yet aware of it. In MP you'll frequently field creatures that offer plenty of value but little meat only to find yourself in the awkward position of having no answer to attacks from large beaters. A singleton Grafted Wargear can go a long way to deterring pressure and since the Equip cost is always free you never need to worry about weaving the mana for it into your sequences. If someone kills your blocker you can simply re-Equip it at no cost while still curving out. Obviously the card is vulnerable to dedicated Artifact hate but that's rarely a deal-breaker in my experience since people typically don't have much incentive to expend resources to actively remove blockers in the first place.
Grade F
Closing Thoughts: Yet another set with 0 playable Artifacts. FeelsBadMan.
Geier Reach Sanitarium: This card will certainly see competitive play second(ish) Mikokoro, Center of the Sea for all of those Underworld Dreams + Liliana's Caress style archetypes that benefit from this type of effect. It should also see play in most Waste Not strategies and it even makes cards such as Geth's Grimoire completely absurd. Basically this card is complete trash in generic decks but insofar as forcing your opponents to draw + discard cards benefits you in some way then I'd virtually always run the first. I'd never recommend jamming any more than that however since the effect is relevant but you don't want to lose games from drawing multiples and being unable to make your land drops. After all, the card isn't that good.
Grade Niche
Nephalia Academy: Decent sideboard hate against dedicated discard strategies. This clearly doesn't prevent card disadvantage but it does offer card selection without carrying a significant opportunity cost. After all, it's a land that ETBU so you can always play it if needed and/or if your opponents don't draw their discard spells.
Grade Sideboard
Closing Thoughts: I'm reasonably happy with all 3 lands (don't forget about Hanweir Battlements) and could easily see myself fielding all of them at some point in the future. The first Hanweir Battlements is an auto-include in Red decks and as a Waste Not aficionado myself I'm definitely going to grab a Geier Reach Sanitarium if only to give it a whirl. Given that you would do well to field some Nephalia Academys against me I can't complain about EMN's offerings to the world of nonbasic lands. It didn't receive another Boseiju, Who Shelters All or anything but the quality and play-ability are certainly there.
Closing Thoughts
I'm left feeling rather deflated about EMN for reasons that I'm somewhat struggling to articulate. In many ways it boils down to the fact that we already know what we're getting when it comes to its relevant offerings which means that there's no mystery or suspense that awaits us. The obviously good cards are obvious and there's very little else that could spring out of the woodwork and take us all by surprise. Moreover, while Blue received some interesting commons/uncommons none of of the other colors really did and while everyone has its fair share of playable rares/mythics the vast majority are worthless outside of specific, niche strategies. EMN undoubted brought some new tools to work with but most are shiny spin-offs of cards that we've seen dozens of times across multiple colors already. Clearly it wasn't a total flop as any set that brings something new to the table is a win in my books but it also won't go down as one of the more memorable multiplayer sets of all time. I can't help but feel as though most people share my sentiment of "/shrug" when they peruse the spoiler making it a decent but forgettable set in the end.
Top 10 Cards in the Set
10. Oath of Liliana
9. Tamiyo, Field Researcher
8. Thalia, Heretic Cathar
7. Coax from the Blind Eternities
6. Decimator of the Provinces
5. Mind's Dilation
4. Grim Flayer
3. Eternal Scourge
2. Splendid Reclamation
1. Eldritch Evolution
Overall Grade: C
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I got a mic last xmas and this is the first time that I've ever used it so I still have to figure out the right distance for it and such. Didn't help that I had record that segment multiple times trying to get OBS to work (source: I'm an idiot) and by the time that I had everything working I was very cotton-mouthed. Hopefully the next sections will go smoother.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
"Wait until I play my 1 pig !!!"
Now find a way to give them haste ;P
Turn 3 - Fervor
Turn 4 - Sneak Attack
Turn 5 - Symbiotic Wurm + 1 pig ! ;P
Yes. Summoner's Pact, Worldly Tutor, Survival of the Fittest, Eladamri's Call, Fierce Empath and a host of other cards all interact favorably with creatures but not spells. Greater Good saccing a 2-3 mana 9/9 is amazing since you get to keep the pump effect while digging for more pump spells to finish the game on the spot. DoTP can be Emerged early on and then pitched to Birthing Pod afterwards to cheat out an 11 drop such as Worldspine Wurm. There's plenty of incentives to field a creature over a spell in a color such as Green.
Overrun can't be cast for value. You never want run it out to deal damage. The same is also for true for Decimator of the Provinces but the reality is that a 7/7 is a real blocker and 7 Hasted, Trampling power from an empty board is no joke.
I don't understand "you can't have too many or too few creatures" comment. Decimator of the Provinces is 7/7 Hasted beater the turn that you cast it and the math on that is very simple. For Overrun to deal more damage you need 3N > 7 + 2N where N is the number of attacking creatures that you're pumping. The break-even point is at N = 7 and for every value above that Overrun is superior from a pure damage perspective. The Emerge exchange obviously changes the math slightly but only on single-spell turns. A big incentive to field an Emerge finisher is so that you can double-spell by jamming DotP + Beastmaster Ascension for OTKs. Still, this figure obviously excludes the games where you run DotP out as a blocker, tutor for it with Fierce Empaths, pitch it to Greater Good, on and on and on. There's more to the card than a burn finisher.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
(Thanx for the review...)
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
My Powered 610 card Vintage Multiplayer Cube
cEDH: WUBR Blue Farm WUBR, UG Kinnan Flips UG, U Urza Scepter U
I talk about this more in the audio set review. I think that DoTP has legitimate competitive applications as a standalone threat given its ability to be cast for low sums of mana on turns where you Emerge cards like Prossh, Skyraidaer of Kher and Avenger of Zendikar. Otherwise $25.00 is a lot to pay for a single card and regardless of whether or not DoTP is superior if it's a reasonable alternative for 1/5th of the price then that interest me as a "real world" deckbuilder who operates under budgetary constraints.
As someone already replied:
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Oh, dumb cast trigger... that's got me a couple of times now. I see the card, thought "That's like Craterhoof" and then just think of it in that way.
My Powered 610 card Vintage Multiplayer Cube
cEDH: WUBR Blue Farm WUBR, UG Kinnan Flips UG, U Urza Scepter U
This set had great art as a whole and DotP is no exception :).
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Not many cards I'm excited about.
Mind's Dilation, Shreds of Sanity & Splendid Reclamation I'll be picking up. Grim Flayer aswell if the price stays down.
Splendid Reclamation (What were they thinking?!?!) is going to be stupidly bonkers.
Scapeshift was already bonkers with Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, but this? This is just a great card for so many decks.
One I like the look of, is Bedlam Reveler. It's not really a MP card, more a duel choice to stick in something like UR Delver, but could be fun.
I wonder...
Oh I'm aware. I even briefly discuss it in my audio set review. My point was merely that most White revival effects are typically "to play" which is no bueno in this instance.
The way I look at these kinds of cards is that they're 1 card win conditions with 0 meaningful deckbuilding constraints. My decks will typically reach 7 mana regardless and I don't need any specific subset of cards to transform it into a powerful card advantage engine. Even if it's not slam-dunk competitive staple it's still significantly more exciting than 99% of Blue's current card pool. Clearly the card is slow and dies to removal, no one is suggesting otherwise, but I have an immense amount of respect for cards that can figuratively win 4+ multiplayer games on their own and this one qualifies. For all the decks and comments that I see about people calling X, Y or Z "win more" it's astonishingly difficult to figuratively win multiplayer games in my experience.
All jokes aside I think that both Cryptic and Dismiss are unplayable and I was just trying to be funny. 4 mana is too much to pay for interaction and the 2-for-1 isn't significant in MP. You will win significantly more games playing cheap permssion such as Counterspell alongside oppressive draw engines such as Mystic Remora, Rhystic Study and Consecrated Sphinx. Play the dirt-cheap junk like Nature's Claim and Swan Song since card "quality" is totally irrelevant when your draws spells are netting an average of 4 cards anyways which means that your primary concern should deploying as many resources as quickly as you possibly can.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
All the same, I'm hyped for it too, and I'm sure I'll have a crack at making it work at some point. I suspect it's going to end up a $1 mythic at some point, so I'm waiting until then before I spring for them.
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Yes, but after re-reading my entry I agree that my description is ambiguous.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Not much need to wait. It's basically there.
Oh I understand, but the key thing to remember is that this is a low-opportunity cost card. If someone in your meta loves discard decks it would be perfectly reasonable to field these in order to provide you with some card selection. You would never blindly jam this into your brews but if you know for a fact that someone will have a discard deck then insofar as your deck does have strict mana requirements I would virtually always play some number of these.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
don't know if it's enough for you to push it into "niche" territory but I was excited to pick up a copy of this card for my Jeskai Sunforger toolbox deck, replacing Dismiss as the catch-all generic counterspell. There's no Storm in my meta, but I do like how it can handle anything on the stack--it can "counter" that Emrakul, The Aeons Torn or act as a Stifle for threats that are already on the board.Edit: seems like I need to work on my reading skills
Nah that's not going to change my tune about the card. I'd need to see something legitimately busted to even consider it It's straight unplayable as far as I'm concerned.
Just so we're clear, you're aware that Sunforger can't fetch Blue spells correct?
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I certainly was not . Looks like I owe some friends a few *s on games where I played it that way. Thanks for catching my blunder.
Np np. I goof on cards and interactions all the time too.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold