Hey there! This is the first time I've posted in the limited forum, but I wanted to share a couple fairly important things I noticed about M15. There are two things I'd like to address, both pertaining to the number 3: 3-Damage Removal and 3-toughness Finishers.
First, let's look at common and uncommon removal in m15, specifically, that which deals 3 damage:
3:Lightning Strike, Ulcerate, Cone of Flame.
These three are all high picks, and none can kill Charging Rhino. Obviously, that makes 4-Toughness creatures harder to kill, but that is true of most sets. What's really interesting is this:
These are all going to be common finishers, and all have three toughness. This means that the aforementioned removal spells are going to continue being very relevant into the lategame. (Unless you're playing against green, in which case there are still plenty of earlier targets.) It also means that pillar of light may often be relegated to sideboards. The final implication of this is that 3-power guys will be able to trade up more easily, resulting in Geist of the Moors, Oreskos Swiftclaw, Necromancer's Assistant, and Goblin Roughrider all being better than usual.
*This card will be less relevant after the prerelease.
Maybe. You may note that, aside from roughrider, these all have 1 toughness. 1 is the other important number in M15, due mostly to two Cards: Raise the Alarm and Triplicate Spirits.
The token theme has flooded M15 with 1/1's, in addition to all the usual 1/1 and 2/1 creatures.
The final, and most speculative, conclusion I draw from all this is that paragons will be awesome. They have 2 toughness, protecting them from a few removal spells, and they bring your common 1 and 3 toughness creatures to 2 and 4 toughness, helping protect them from removal as well. Overall, we're looking at a format where boosting toughness could be key.
so are you saying to save your removal for the late game? I also agree the Paragons are going to be amazing, after doing some practice drafts and sealed they are really bombs in the right decks.
You make an excellent point about the value of 4 toughness. That's a big deal.
To paraphrase Brian Wong on LRCast -- "X/1s get straight up murdered in this set, especially on the ground." He was talking less about removal and more about tokens but the finding is valid. You should not expect to be able to attack freely with X/1 creatures without evasion. Odds are your opponent will have something that will let them trade up. Don't think you can build a winning M15 deck by stuffing it full of Oreskos Swiftclaws. Because of tokens, 2/2 might actually be better than 3/1 in this set. Or rather, 2/2s are better offensive threats in the early game because they don't trade with a 1/1 token.
You make an excellent point about the value of 4 toughness. That's a big deal.
To paraphrase Brian Wong on LRCast -- "X/1s get straight up murdered in this set, especially on the ground." He was talking less about removal and more about tokens but the finding is valid. You should not expect to be able to attack freely with X/1 creatures without evasion. Odds are your opponent will have something that will let them trade up. Don't think you can build a winning M15 deck by stuffing it full of Oreskos Swiftclaws. Because of tokens, 2/2 might actually be better than 3/1 in this set. Or rather, 2/2s are better offensive threats in the early game because they don't trade with a 1/1 token.
Oh, I definitely think that 2/2's are better than 3/1's in this set, in all but the most aggressive decks.
I think Green is STRONG in this set although I would say a few things...
I realize I am speculating here.
On the tempo side, Green has issues with evasive beats, although Netcaster Spider looks pretty great. Green has size but not at particularly high velocity and it can get tempo'd out like always.
On the removal side, Heat Ray and Seismic Strike can handle the big dudes some of the time and Green is the one color Flesh to Dust promises to be reasonable against.
Also, the promo FTL... That card is so bad.
I concur in the speculation that the paragons are all pretty good except for the Blue one most likely
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First, let's look at common and uncommon removal in m15, specifically, that which deals 3 damage:
3:Lightning Strike, Ulcerate, Cone of Flame.
These three are all high picks, and none can kill Charging Rhino. Obviously, that makes 4-Toughness creatures harder to kill, but that is true of most sets. What's really interesting is this:
These are all going to be common finishers, and all have three toughness. This means that the aforementioned removal spells are going to continue being very relevant into the lategame. (Unless you're playing against green, in which case there are still plenty of earlier targets.) It also means that pillar of light may often be relegated to sideboards. The final implication of this is that 3-power guys will be able to trade up more easily, resulting in Geist of the Moors, Oreskos Swiftclaw, Necromancer's Assistant, and Goblin Roughrider all being better than usual.
*This card will be less relevant after the prerelease.
Maybe. You may note that, aside from roughrider, these all have 1 toughness. 1 is the other important number in M15, due mostly to two Cards:
Raise the Alarm and Triplicate Spirits.
The token theme has flooded M15 with 1/1's, in addition to all the usual 1/1 and 2/1 creatures.
To combat this, these removal spells exist:
Festergloom, Crippling Blight, Forge Devil, and... Circle of Flame.
I expect all but the circle to be fully playable, and circle may turn out to be alright.
The final, and most speculative, conclusion I draw from all this is that paragons will be awesome. They have 2 toughness, protecting them from a few removal spells, and they bring your common 1 and 3 toughness creatures to 2 and 4 toughness, helping protect them from removal as well. Overall, we're looking at a format where boosting toughness could be key.
To paraphrase Brian Wong on LRCast -- "X/1s get straight up murdered in this set, especially on the ground." He was talking less about removal and more about tokens but the finding is valid. You should not expect to be able to attack freely with X/1 creatures without evasion. Odds are your opponent will have something that will let them trade up. Don't think you can build a winning M15 deck by stuffing it full of Oreskos Swiftclaws. Because of tokens, 2/2 might actually be better than 3/1 in this set. Or rather, 2/2s are better offensive threats in the early game because they don't trade with a 1/1 token.
Oh, I definitely think that 2/2's are better than 3/1's in this set, in all but the most aggressive decks.
I realize I am speculating here.
On the tempo side, Green has issues with evasive beats, although Netcaster Spider looks pretty great. Green has size but not at particularly high velocity and it can get tempo'd out like always.
On the removal side, Heat Ray and Seismic Strike can handle the big dudes some of the time and Green is the one color Flesh to Dust promises to be reasonable against.
Also, the promo FTL... That card is so bad.
I concur in the speculation that the paragons are all pretty good except for the Blue one most likely