I still don't know what the best deck is for Field of Ruin, but I'm fairly certain there is one. In exchange for a Tectonic Edge-like activation cost, you get a quasi-Ghost Quarter effect and the ability to cheat in a basic land of your choice. Given several of my decks' weakness to Blood Moon, I think additional viable ways of tutoring for basics are welcome.
Sadly, the best home is not D&T because Leonin Arbiter cooperates so much better with Ghost Quarter (free activation cost, the infamous Turn 3 GQ into Arbiter hold priority crack GQ).
Maybe I'll try it in Eldrazi Tron and some midrange/control decks. Eldrazi Tron is somewhat weak to Blood Moon, has just enough basics to reliably cheat in one per game, and can easily Expedition Map for this. My midrange/control decks tend to be Moon-weak, and they can use the simultaneous LD and colour fixing.
Shame I can't just blow this up early against an opposing fetchland because they'll crack it in response and deny me my basic.
Field is oh so good with Aven Mindcensor though. Also its just additional Ghost Quarters in D+T. I think its good enough
-Opt: The most anticipated card from the set thus far and for good reason. Opt gives a really nice boost to control decks that really wanted this kind of card. Decks like Jeskai Flash, UW Control, Jeskai Control, Esper Control get really nice boosts from this card being reprinted in modern frame. I'm interested to see how delver looks now that it has this card as a potential cantrip. I'm also interested in seeming now much better blue decks in general get from this card existing.
-Sorcerous Spyglass: I feel like I may be overrating this card but I really like what this card is doing. If you are on the play and you play spyglass, you can look at their hand and if they have a fetchland in their hand you just get to stone rain them by naming the fetchland. If they have two of the same fetchland then it's a double stone rain. Since it's a pithing needle effect, it's pretty good against basically every deck. I see this as a definite sideboard card for the future. IMHO it's one of the best modern card from this set so far.
-Unclaimed Territory: This is a niche card but I see it slotting into 5 color human mana bases really nicely
-Legion's Landing: This card looks like it slots into BW tokens really well. Legion's landing: helps them against aggressive strats like affinity, nicely lowers the curve of the blooted mana curve, is ok in multiples due to the token anthems in the deck, taps for white which helps them cast cards like spectral procession which is hard to do, becomes a mana rock for a deck that has tons of great mana sinks, makes tokens every turn, etc. It seems like a tailor made home even if it's fringe.
-Chart a Course: We have never seen a draw 2 discard 1 effect at 1U before. The closest that we get is see beyond and that doesn't dump a card in the graveyard. This card seems very good to say the least. I could honestly see a world where this is just used to discard a card since there are graveyard centric decks that would love to get a card in the yard. Stuff like Esper Reanimator/gifts seems like they could use this to a really good effect. I haven't even talked about the fact that there are tempo decks that can make this card consistently be a 1Udivination. This card is doing a lot of powerful things and I suspect that people will sleep on this card until they see what it's made of.
-Carnage Tyrant: Slots right into scapeshift decks's sideboard. They were playing Gaea's Revenge before and this looks like a nice upgrade. Easy to tutor it with summoner's pact.
-Kopala, Warden of Waves: Seems like a slamdunk for merfolk players that want a Kira, Great Glass-Spinner esque effect but do not want to play kira in the maindeck. I see this splitting some kind of numbers with kira in the sideboard. Seems like a nice 2 of for fish players. It's nice that walking ballista can't machine gun down their armies now.
Has a mid/low chance of seeing play in modern
-Search for Azcanta: While it's a do nothing enchantment when it hits the field, having the ability to flip with threshold (not hard to do in modern), nearly scry 1 every upkeep, granting U for turn 4 cryptic or hold up the land portion of this card seem good. Plus this card already has good synergy with good cards in modern such as the delve creatures, k-command, snapcaster, thought scour, faithless looting, liliana, collective brutality, lingering souls, just to name a few. The potential is definitely here for this card.
-Field of Ruin: Another Ghost quarter/tectonic edge variant. It's hard to compete with these land destruction lands but Field of Ruin's ability to net a basic land for you is important for decks that looking to play cryptic command. Also just tapping this for mana for a super ghetto fetchland is also not a bad idea. If this is good enough, expect UW/UW(r) decks to play this.
-Rigging Runner: This slots into 8 whack relatively well since they could trigger this ability at ease and take the most advantage of it with Burning-Tree Emissary. It depends on how much they trigger the ability for it to have a home there.
-Jace, Cunning Castaway: Many people have called this card bad and left it at that. I see the potental for this card to see play in modern. Having a three drop planeswalker poop out a 2/2 is really good. The plus ability is not the greatest but I honestly believe that most of the time you are in to get a 2/2 creature then ride the loot waves until you find another jace. The only card that really hurts the new jace is electrolyze (it can kill the token and jace) and that's not seeing much play these days. It has a very low chance of being good enough in tempo decks but I will try it anyhow.
-Settle the Wreckage: Wrath of god meets Path to exile. Obviously this card seems great with aven mindcensor/shadow of doubt. The question that I have for this card is "will this card be good enough without needing a players can't search libraries effect out." Or is it too detrimental? Since many modern decks don't play many basics I want to say that it's playable but I'm hesitant to say 100 percent.
-Hostage Taker: It is very unheard of for UB to ever get the ability to ever interact with artifacts outside of just bouncing them back to the opponent's hand. Having the ability to exile artifacts/creatures seems really good. This card is pretty slow for dealing with affinity but if it's good enough, being able to exile a threat then cast it the next turn seems good since most of modern's threats are on the cheap end.(worth noting that if you steal a delve creature, you can delve to cast it). If this gets there it makes a nice addition to the sideboard.
-Siren Stormtamer: Seems like a nice card for Saheeli Rai if it's good enough since it can protect felidar guardian. It reminds me of a ghetto spellskite. The problem is that you have to hold up mana to get the ability off which can be really annoying. It has promise since it can attack but holding mana may prove to be too annoying.
-Old-Growth Dryads: Similar to Settle the Wreckage, we haven't had many cards that gives your opponents lands before in modern this aggressively costed. A 3/3 is no joke in terms of power and if they don't have the removal for this card it can quickly win the game paid with goblin guide or wild nacatl. This one may surprise people.
This card has not shot of seeing play in modern
-Growing Rites of Itlimoc: One of the flashiest cards of the entire set since they don't try to makeGaea's Cradle often. The issue that I see with this card is that it: doesn't dig deep enough for 3 mana, requires a heavy access of creatures to get the benefit, and how impactful is the flip when you are that ahead anyhow? I want this to work in decks like modern elves but I'm not seeing it.
-Arguel's Bloodfast: One of my favorite designs of the set is sadly lacking for modern play. In a format with cards like Dark Confidant and phyrexian arena, there is very little reason to run a cheap version of Greed.
-Kinjalli's Sunwing: A Thalia, Heretic Cathar effect with tapping creatures down but this one doens't tap nonbasics down. Instead it trade that for evasion and swapped power and toughness. I don't really see this one getting there since new thalia only sees fringe play.
-Tocatli Honor Guard: This torpor orb on a stick has been seen before in Hushwing Gryff with flash and it didn't do anything. This one doesn't have flash or evasion which makes it even harder for me to believe that this gets there. Worth noting that the jank torpor orb deck has 12 orb effects now.
-Arguel's bloodfast: As much as I love this card's design, it has no chance of seeing play in modern. It does nothing when it ETBs, it asks you to sink 2 mana to draw a card, and the payoff is low when it flips. And no, death shadow decks would rather play painful truths than play this.
-Deadeye Tracker: See Sentinel Totem's issues with seeing modern play. You can clearly tell that this card has been heavily nerfed to avoid a deathrite shaman 2.0 from happening.
-Vanquisher's Banner: Initially I was excited about this card for elves but the more I think about it, the most I see this card having its work cut out for it. Elves have to get to 5 mana, cast this for it's glorious anthem effect then they need more creatures in order to get the glimpse of nature effect. That seems like a winmore scenario almost everytime.
-Deeproot Champion: As much as I love miracle grow creatures, they just haven't panned out in modern because we lack good enough protection spells/they are horrid top decks. I fell for the myth realized trap once and I'm not falling for it this time. The Quirion Dryad effect isn't good enough these days sadly.
-Ripjaw Raptor: A dino for a great rate but that rate is outclassed at 1-2 mana.
-Rowdy Crew: Not as bad as many believe this to be since it does put two cards in your graveyard. The issue is that this would have to go in a deck that doesn't care about discarding random pieces. Sadly it doesn't say discard three cards so hollow one decks do not quite get there with this card.
-Ruin Raider: One of the better Bob effects in awhile. Still not good enough here.
-Ranging Raptors: Really cool build around me card that asks a lot to ramp you in a format where ramp is easy to do.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
On mtgsalvation people don't want to discuss ideas, so I give people something else to discuss: my controversial opinions.
Before Field of Ruin: Crucible Land Destruction.dec was a tempting concept but lacked a good on-curve Strip Mine. Ghost Quarter is good but it loses tempo and Tectonic Edge is way too late.
Now you can play Boom // Bust with Flagstones of Trokair plus some mix of Ghost Quarter and Field of Ruins and have reasonably consistent turn 2 or turn 3 plays to make.
Field of Ruins is significantly better with Crucible than the others. It's still a far cry from classic land destruction but if you exhaust their basics you can lock opponents down. You still need a GQ or some traditional LD spells to complete the job
Of course this may only work against certain decks that have greedy mana, but better coverage is still a very welcome benefit for a lockdown deck.
Disperse is generally a plausibly playable card in most sets, but this one also doesn't target your own stuff to save it. Echoing Truth is just going to remain the go to card for this effect in order to get around multiple blood moons or ensaring bridges before going off.
Disperse is generally a plausibly playable card in most sets, but this one also doesn't target your own stuff to save it. Echoing Truth is just going to remain the go to card for this effect in order to get around multiple blood moons or ensaring bridges before going off.
Perilous Voyage looks pretty weak (even for Standard), not only it lacks the utility of Echoing Truth against multiple permanents/tokens
(or Cyclonic Rift in big mana decks) but it is also outclassed by boucers like Into the Roil/Repeal which can draw a card while being able to target your own permanents.
Nah nothing spoiled in the last chunk of cards seem like anything that will break into modern. These are all strictly limited type cards. I suspect very few will even be played in standard.
3
Chart a Course (combo decks, not aggro decks)
Kopala, Warden of Waves (it's a 4 in Merfolk, but Merfolk is like a 2.5 in the meta)
Carnage Tyrant (SB for Valakut decks)
2
Ashes of the Abhorrent
Tocatli Honor Guard
Dive Down (beats spot removal and Anger)
Deathgorge Scavenger
Old-Growth Dryads
Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Sentinel Totem (worse than Relic/Spellbomb)
Sorcerous Spyglass (worse than Needle)
Field of Ruin
Unclaimed Territory
1
The rest
Reprints: Spell Pierce, Duress, checklands
This set is pretty lackluster. The first thought that went through my mind after reading the full spoiler was "wait, is this a small set? Why are there so few playable cards?"
This set has a bunch of cards that were quite literally created by the following process:
1) Take a random, existing card.
2) Bump its mana cost up by 1 or 2.
3) Make it create Treasure tokens equal to (or less than!) the mana increase.
The end result is an unexciting spell that you cast 1 turn late. It's like if Serra Avenger was a 2/2 without flying and vigilance. Eww.
Fact or Fiction section
UG Merfolk is a thing now - Fiction, adding green strains your mana too much. Lords cost double blue and Mutavault doesn't provide colored mana. The epitome of this mana screwery is a hand containing Cavern of Souls, Mutavault, Kumena's Speaker and a lord.
Dinosaurs is a thing now - Fiction, despite a Dinosaur Ancient Stirrings and two cost reducers . The payoff isn't there.
Opt is better than 1) Serum Visions, 2) Sleight of Hand - 1) Fiction, 2) Fiction (but only because of trichotomy). SV is the best; it digs deeper than the other two as long as you have an extra draw to make. I consider Opt to be approximately equal to Sleight of Hand, so that would technically be a "fiction" for 2). I don't think you can slam all 3 in a deck that isn't pure combo like Storm though - for one, people weren't already slamming 4 SV and 4 Sleight in their decks.
I think it could replace Spoils of the Vault in Ad Nauseam; Spoils is kinda like a high-variance cantrip that can range from tutoring the exact card that you need for just 1 mana, to killing yourself by life loss/exiling wincons. Opt is more consistent.
Format is card name, followed by number of decks found on mtgtop8. Disclaimer: mtgtop8 data includes MTGO League data, which is picked in a non-random manner by WotC.
Oketra's Last Mercy 3
Overwhelming Splendor 0
Solemnity 5
Steward of Solidarity 0
Sunscourge Champion 0
Countervailing Winds 0
Fraying Sanity 0
Kefnet's Last Word 1
Nimble Obstructionist 7
Riddleform 0
Strategic Planning 2
Striped Riverwinder 1
Supreme Will 12
Tragic Lesson 0
Ammit Eternal 0
Bontu's Last Reckoning 6
Doomfall 0
Dreamstealer 0
Liliana's Defeat 6
Lurching Rotbeast 0
Razaketh's Rite 0
Abrade 7
Crash Through 0
Firebrand Archer 0
Hazoret's Undying Fury 0
Hour of Devastation 2
Wildfire Eternal 0 Hour of Promise 31
Life Goes On 2
Pride Sovereign 0 Ramunap Excavator 22
Rhonas's Last Stand 0
Uncage the Menagerie 0
Bloodwater Entity 0
Samut, the Tested 0 Claim//Fame 20
Leave//Chance 1
Driven//Despair 9
God-Pharaoh's Gift 1
Hollow One 3
Hashep Oasis 0
Hostile Desert 1
Ifnir Deadlands 1
Ipnu Rivulet 0
Ramunap Ruins 0
Scavenger Grounds 11
Shefet Dunes 2
Confirmed: every block with gods is underpowered. Only 3 cards broke the 20-deck threshold, and one of those cards is Claim//Fame, which turned out to be much worse than the pre-release hype. The last recorded Claim//Fame deck on mtgtop8 dates back to 17/8, almost a month ago. Lesson learnt: don't pay 1 mana just to reanimate a 2 mana creature.
Hour of Promise is the most played HOU card by # of records on mtgtop8, but it's not quite a staple in Titanshift yet. Its adoption rate in that deck is 38.75%, and none of the Titanshift players who T32ed GP Birmingham played it (although GP Sao Paulo had more Hour devotees).
izzetmage, what do you think about Search for Azcanta's playability in Modern? From my testing so far in blue-splashing midrange/control/combo (e.g. UWR, Scapeshift, even Lantern Control), it's been great once flipped and easy enough to flip as a 1-2-of (although the graveyard "Scry" definitely helps it flip), although yard hate can hit it pretty hard pre-flip, it sucks in multiples, and it can be regarded as having Suspend 1 or more. It looked like the biggest omission in your playables list.
I have a strong aversion to cards that fix your draws but don't put actual, new cards into your hand. Compare Index or Mystic Speculation to any other cantrip. I don't believe in Search for Azcanta for this reason.
If you cast Search, have it flip and activate it once you've spent a total of 5 mana for a few "scry"s and a new card. If you cast Think Twice with flashback you'll end up with 2 new cards in hand for the same amount of mana. The difference is, Think Twice takes a lot less hoop-jumping, and you can even do it at instant speed.
3
Chart a Course (combo decks, not aggro decks)
Kopala, Warden of Waves (it's a 4 in Merfolk, but Merfolk is like a 2.5 in the meta)
Carnage Tyrant (SB for Valakut decks)
2
Ashes of the Abhorrent
Tocatli Honor Guard
Dive Down (beats spot removal and Anger)
Deathgorge Scavenger
Old-Growth Dryads
Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Sentinel Totem (worse than Relic/Spellbomb)
Sorcerous Spyglass (worse than Needle)
Field of Ruin
Unclaimed Territory
1
The rest
Reprints: Spell Pierce, Duress, checklands
This set is pretty lackluster. The first thought that went through my mind after reading the full spoiler was "wait, is this a small set? Why are there so few playable cards?"
This set has a bunch of cards that were quite literally created by the following process:
1) Take a random, existing card.
2) Bump its mana cost up by 1 or 2.
3) Make it create Treasure tokens equal to (or less than!) the mana increase.
The end result is an unexciting spell that you cast 1 turn late. It's like if Serra Avenger was a 2/2 without flying and vigilance. Eww.
Fact or Fiction section
UG Merfolk is a thing now - Fiction, adding green strains your mana too much. Lords cost double blue and Mutavault doesn't provide colored mana. The epitome of this mana screwery is a hand containing Cavern of Souls, Mutavault, Kumena's Speaker and a lord.
Dinosaurs is a thing now - Fiction, despite a Dinosaur Ancient Stirrings and two cost reducers . The payoff isn't there.
Opt is better than 1) Serum Visions, 2) Sleight of Hand - 1) Fiction, 2) Fiction (but only because of trichotomy). SV is the best; it digs deeper than the other two as long as you have an extra draw to make. I consider Opt to be approximately equal to Sleight of Hand, so that would technically be a "fiction" for 2). I don't think you can slam all 3 in a deck that isn't pure combo like Storm though - for one, people weren't already slamming 4 SV and 4 Sleight in their decks.
I think it could replace Spoils of the Vault in Ad Nauseam; Spoils is kinda like a high-variance cantrip that can range from tutoring the exact card that you need for just 1 mana, to killing yourself by life loss/exiling wincons. Opt is more consistent.
Format is card name, followed by number of decks found on mtgtop8. Disclaimer: mtgtop8 data includes MTGO League data, which is picked in a non-random manner by WotC.
Oketra's Last Mercy 3
Overwhelming Splendor 0
Solemnity 5
Steward of Solidarity 0
Sunscourge Champion 0
Countervailing Winds 0
Fraying Sanity 0
Kefnet's Last Word 1
Nimble Obstructionist 7
Riddleform 0
Strategic Planning 2
Striped Riverwinder 1
Supreme Will 12
Tragic Lesson 0
Ammit Eternal 0
Bontu's Last Reckoning 6
Doomfall 0
Dreamstealer 0
Liliana's Defeat 6
Lurching Rotbeast 0
Razaketh's Rite 0
Abrade 7
Crash Through 0
Firebrand Archer 0
Hazoret's Undying Fury 0
Hour of Devastation 2
Wildfire Eternal 0 Hour of Promise 31
Life Goes On 2
Pride Sovereign 0 Ramunap Excavator 22
Rhonas's Last Stand 0
Uncage the Menagerie 0
Bloodwater Entity 0
Samut, the Tested 0 Claim//Fame 20
Leave//Chance 1
Driven//Despair 9
God-Pharaoh's Gift 1
Hollow One 3
Hashep Oasis 0
Hostile Desert 1
Ifnir Deadlands 1
Ipnu Rivulet 0
Ramunap Ruins 0
Scavenger Grounds 11
Shefet Dunes 2
Confirmed: every block with gods is underpowered. Only 3 cards broke the 20-deck threshold, and one of those cards is Claim//Fame, which turned out to be much worse than the pre-release hype. The last recorded Claim//Fame deck on mtgtop8 dates back to 17/8, almost a month ago. Lesson learnt: don't pay 1 mana just to reanimate a 2 mana creature.
Hour of Promise is the most played HOU card by # of records on mtgtop8, but it's not quite a staple in Titanshift yet. Its adoption rate in that deck is 38.75%, and none of the Titanshift players who T32ed GP Birmingham played it (although GP Sao Paulo had more Hour devotees).
RIP HOU, may you have more value than DGM in 5 years' time.
Dinosaurs are definitely not a thing. Being they are in naya colors, and represent a kind of stompy or "agressive midrange" area, its basically Zoo's field, and there is nothing here that makes Dinos better than zoo. No cheap threats (nacatl is a 3/3) no good mana ramp (Noble is the best aggressive mana ramp) and the cost reducers are great, they dont synergize well and wont be swinging for more than a point of damage or so.
The dinos would need to be absurd at 2-4 mana next set to make that work. As it is, dino fans just need to hope that theres a dino goyf or nacatl or something in the next set that bumps the playability of zoo or naya midrange.
As far as HOU Playability. Yeah, I thought claim might be good... but as I kept thinking about it, the only place that really is great is where you have the option of tutoring the card, thus making it a tool box spell. If the aftermath was reversed, or just different where the reanimate is the aftermath side, it would be a thousand times better. that way you can mill the effect while milling the toolbox to use from. Less work, more pay off, less raw power, more utility. But alas.
Driven doesnt have numbers behind it, but it is a 1 of in dredge now, and is played. Dredge isnt all that great right now, but its a very good 1 of, and in dredge it shows up in the yard more often than not. Its on par with stuff like rally, scourge devil and haunted dead.
The casual player will be satisfied with the knight and vampire tribal offerings. The 1/2 that causes a point every time it attacks. Also the four-drop that deals one life per attacking vampire. Vicious Conquistador, Sanctum Seeker oh and Blood Crazed Paladin, considering how bad tribal decks do against a wrath.
3
Chart a Course (combo decks, not aggro decks)
Kopala, Warden of Waves (it's a 4 in Merfolk, but Merfolk is like a 2.5 in the meta)
Carnage Tyrant (SB for Valakut decks)
2
Ashes of the Abhorrent
Tocatli Honor Guard
Dive Down (beats spot removal and Anger)
Deathgorge Scavenger
Old-Growth Dryads
Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Sentinel Totem (worse than Relic/Spellbomb)
Sorcerous Spyglass (worse than Needle)
Field of Ruin
Unclaimed Territory
1
The rest
Reprints: Spell Pierce, Duress, checklands
This set is pretty lackluster. The first thought that went through my mind after reading the full spoiler was "wait, is this a small set? Why are there so few playable cards?"
This set has a bunch of cards that were quite literally created by the following process:
1) Take a random, existing card.
2) Bump its mana cost up by 1 or 2.
3) Make it create Treasure tokens equal to (or less than!) the mana increase.
The end result is an unexciting spell that you cast 1 turn late. It's like if Serra Avenger was a 2/2 without flying and vigilance. Eww.
Fact or Fiction section
UG Merfolk is a thing now - Fiction, adding green strains your mana too much. Lords cost double blue and Mutavault doesn't provide colored mana. The epitome of this mana screwery is a hand containing Cavern of Souls, Mutavault, Kumena's Speaker and a lord.
Dinosaurs is a thing now - Fiction, despite a Dinosaur Ancient Stirrings and two cost reducers . The payoff isn't there.
Opt is better than 1) Serum Visions, 2) Sleight of Hand - 1) Fiction, 2) Fiction (but only because of trichotomy). SV is the best; it digs deeper than the other two as long as you have an extra draw to make. I consider Opt to be approximately equal to Sleight of Hand, so that would technically be a "fiction" for 2). I don't think you can slam all 3 in a deck that isn't pure combo like Storm though - for one, people weren't already slamming 4 SV and 4 Sleight in their decks.
I think it could replace Spoils of the Vault in Ad Nauseam; Spoils is kinda like a high-variance cantrip that can range from tutoring the exact card that you need for just 1 mana, to killing yourself by life loss/exiling wincons. Opt is more consistent.
Format is card name, followed by number of decks found on mtgtop8. Disclaimer: mtgtop8 data includes MTGO League data, which is picked in a non-random manner by WotC.
Oketra's Last Mercy 3
Overwhelming Splendor 0
Solemnity 5
Steward of Solidarity 0
Sunscourge Champion 0
Countervailing Winds 0
Fraying Sanity 0
Kefnet's Last Word 1
Nimble Obstructionist 7
Riddleform 0
Strategic Planning 2
Striped Riverwinder 1
Supreme Will 12
Tragic Lesson 0
Ammit Eternal 0
Bontu's Last Reckoning 6
Doomfall 0
Dreamstealer 0
Liliana's Defeat 6
Lurching Rotbeast 0
Razaketh's Rite 0
Abrade 7
Crash Through 0
Firebrand Archer 0
Hazoret's Undying Fury 0
Hour of Devastation 2
Wildfire Eternal 0 Hour of Promise 31
Life Goes On 2
Pride Sovereign 0 Ramunap Excavator 22
Rhonas's Last Stand 0
Uncage the Menagerie 0
Bloodwater Entity 0
Samut, the Tested 0 Claim//Fame 20
Leave//Chance 1
Driven//Despair 9
God-Pharaoh's Gift 1
Hollow One 3
Hashep Oasis 0
Hostile Desert 1
Ifnir Deadlands 1
Ipnu Rivulet 0
Ramunap Ruins 0
Scavenger Grounds 11
Shefet Dunes 2
Confirmed: every block with gods is underpowered. Only 3 cards broke the 20-deck threshold, and one of those cards is Claim//Fame, which turned out to be much worse than the pre-release hype. The last recorded Claim//Fame deck on mtgtop8 dates back to 17/8, almost a month ago. Lesson learnt: don't pay 1 mana just to reanimate a 2 mana creature.
Hour of Promise is the most played HOU card by # of records on mtgtop8, but it's not quite a staple in Titanshift yet. Its adoption rate in that deck is 38.75%, and none of the Titanshift players who T32ed GP Birmingham played it (although GP Sao Paulo had more Hour devotees).
RIP HOU, may you have more value than DGM in 5 years' time.
Dinosaurs are definitely not a thing. Being they are in naya colors, and represent a kind of stompy or "agressive midrange" area, its basically Zoo's field, and there is nothing here that makes Dinos better than zoo. No cheap threats (nacatl is a 3/3) no good mana ramp (Noble is the best aggressive mana ramp) and the cost reducers are great, they dont synergize well and wont be swinging for more than a point of damage or so.
The dinos would need to be absurd at 2-4 mana next set to make that work. As it is, dino fans just need to hope that theres a dino goyf or nacatl or something in the next set that bumps the playability of zoo or naya midrange.
As far as HOU Playability. Yeah, I thought claim might be good... but as I kept thinking about it, the only place that really is great is where you have the option of tutoring the card, thus making it a tool box spell. If the aftermath was reversed, or just different where the reanimate is the aftermath side, it would be a thousand times better. that way you can mill the effect while milling the toolbox to use from. Less work, more pay off, less raw power, more utility. But alas.
Driven doesnt have numbers behind it, but it is a 1 of in dredge now, and is played. Dredge isnt all that great right now, but its a very good 1 of, and in dredge it shows up in the yard more often than not. Its on par with stuff like rally, scourge devil and haunted dead.
I think Dinos have to be approached in a different way. They're big monsters that can't match a Goyf. But if they focus on the Enrage mechanic especially Ripjaw Raptor there might be something there. Ripjaw Raptor + Pyroclasm is a combo in itself. Damage or wipe the board and draw a card. That sounds pretty good.
16 Utility cards, some manafixing and acceleration that doesn't die to our pyroclasms, and even a draw engine to boot. And some fun cards like Arlinn Kord.
22 Lands with fetches, shocks, ghost quarters, Raging Ravine, and a Kessig Wolf's Run should round that out nicely.
And there we go we have a Dinosaur Deck that looks decently strong against weenie decks like Affinity and Death and Taxes. The dinos look like they'll still get eaten by Death's Shadow, Gurmag's, and Eldrazi's though. And there's no way for them to really stop titan shift unless they slap their sideboard with some stone rains and stuff.
And I think Pirates have a better shot at showing up in Modern than the Dinos.
Field is oh so good with Aven Mindcensor though. Also its just additional Ghost Quarters in D+T. I think its good enough
I think this will see modern play
-Opt: The most anticipated card from the set thus far and for good reason. Opt gives a really nice boost to control decks that really wanted this kind of card. Decks like Jeskai Flash, UW Control, Jeskai Control, Esper Control get really nice boosts from this card being reprinted in modern frame. I'm interested to see how delver looks now that it has this card as a potential cantrip. I'm also interested in seeming now much better blue decks in general get from this card existing.
-Sorcerous Spyglass: I feel like I may be overrating this card but I really like what this card is doing. If you are on the play and you play spyglass, you can look at their hand and if they have a fetchland in their hand you just get to stone rain them by naming the fetchland. If they have two of the same fetchland then it's a double stone rain. Since it's a pithing needle effect, it's pretty good against basically every deck. I see this as a definite sideboard card for the future. IMHO it's one of the best modern card from this set so far.
-Unclaimed Territory: This is a niche card but I see it slotting into 5 color human mana bases really nicely
-Legion's Landing: This card looks like it slots into BW tokens really well. Legion's landing: helps them against aggressive strats like affinity, nicely lowers the curve of the blooted mana curve, is ok in multiples due to the token anthems in the deck, taps for white which helps them cast cards like spectral procession which is hard to do, becomes a mana rock for a deck that has tons of great mana sinks, makes tokens every turn, etc. It seems like a tailor made home even if it's fringe.
-Chart a Course: We have never seen a draw 2 discard 1 effect at 1U before. The closest that we get is see beyond and that doesn't dump a card in the graveyard. This card seems very good to say the least. I could honestly see a world where this is just used to discard a card since there are graveyard centric decks that would love to get a card in the yard. Stuff like Esper Reanimator/gifts seems like they could use this to a really good effect. I haven't even talked about the fact that there are tempo decks that can make this card consistently be a 1U divination. This card is doing a lot of powerful things and I suspect that people will sleep on this card until they see what it's made of.
-Carnage Tyrant: Slots right into scapeshift decks's sideboard. They were playing Gaea's Revenge before and this looks like a nice upgrade. Easy to tutor it with summoner's pact.
-Kopala, Warden of Waves: Seems like a slamdunk for merfolk players that want a Kira, Great Glass-Spinner esque effect but do not want to play kira in the maindeck. I see this splitting some kind of numbers with kira in the sideboard. Seems like a nice 2 of for fish players. It's nice that walking ballista can't machine gun down their armies now.
Has a mid/low chance of seeing play in modern
-Search for Azcanta: While it's a do nothing enchantment when it hits the field, having the ability to flip with threshold (not hard to do in modern), nearly scry 1 every upkeep, granting U for turn 4 cryptic or hold up the land portion of this card seem good. Plus this card already has good synergy with good cards in modern such as the delve creatures, k-command, snapcaster, thought scour, faithless looting, liliana, collective brutality, lingering souls, just to name a few. The potential is definitely here for this card.
-Field of Ruin: Another Ghost quarter/tectonic edge variant. It's hard to compete with these land destruction lands but Field of Ruin's ability to net a basic land for you is important for decks that looking to play cryptic command. Also just tapping this for mana for a super ghetto fetchland is also not a bad idea. If this is good enough, expect UW/UW(r) decks to play this.
-Rigging Runner: This slots into 8 whack relatively well since they could trigger this ability at ease and take the most advantage of it with Burning-Tree Emissary. It depends on how much they trigger the ability for it to have a home there.
-Jace, Cunning Castaway: Many people have called this card bad and left it at that. I see the potental for this card to see play in modern. Having a three drop planeswalker poop out a 2/2 is really good. The plus ability is not the greatest but I honestly believe that most of the time you are in to get a 2/2 creature then ride the loot waves until you find another jace. The only card that really hurts the new jace is electrolyze (it can kill the token and jace) and that's not seeing much play these days. It has a very low chance of being good enough in tempo decks but I will try it anyhow.
-Settle the Wreckage: Wrath of god meets Path to exile. Obviously this card seems great with aven mindcensor/shadow of doubt. The question that I have for this card is "will this card be good enough without needing a players can't search libraries effect out." Or is it too detrimental? Since many modern decks don't play many basics I want to say that it's playable but I'm hesitant to say 100 percent.
-Hostage Taker: It is very unheard of for UB to ever get the ability to ever interact with artifacts outside of just bouncing them back to the opponent's hand. Having the ability to exile artifacts/creatures seems really good. This card is pretty slow for dealing with affinity but if it's good enough, being able to exile a threat then cast it the next turn seems good since most of modern's threats are on the cheap end.(worth noting that if you steal a delve creature, you can delve to cast it). If this gets there it makes a nice addition to the sideboard.
-Siren Stormtamer: Seems like a nice card for Saheeli Rai if it's good enough since it can protect felidar guardian. It reminds me of a ghetto spellskite. The problem is that you have to hold up mana to get the ability off which can be really annoying. It has promise since it can attack but holding mana may prove to be too annoying.
-Old-Growth Dryads: Similar to Settle the Wreckage, we haven't had many cards that gives your opponents lands before in modern this aggressively costed. A 3/3 is no joke in terms of power and if they don't have the removal for this card it can quickly win the game paid with goblin guide or wild nacatl. This one may surprise people.
This card has not shot of seeing play in modern
-Growing Rites of Itlimoc: One of the flashiest cards of the entire set since they don't try to makeGaea's Cradle often. The issue that I see with this card is that it: doesn't dig deep enough for 3 mana, requires a heavy access of creatures to get the benefit, and how impactful is the flip when you are that ahead anyhow? I want this to work in decks like modern elves but I'm not seeing it.
-Arguel's Bloodfast: One of my favorite designs of the set is sadly lacking for modern play. In a format with cards like Dark Confidant and phyrexian arena, there is very little reason to run a cheap version of Greed.
-Entrancing Melody: This card got a lot of hype when it was leaked until we learned that it's a sorcery. We have Threads of Disloyalty,Bribery,Sower of temptation and Vedalken Shackles as better cards and none of those see much play these days. Being a sorcery kills this spell's shot at seeing play in modern.
-Kinjalli's Sunwing: A Thalia, Heretic Cathar effect with tapping creatures down but this one doens't tap nonbasics down. Instead it trade that for evasion and swapped power and toughness. I don't really see this one getting there since new thalia only sees fringe play.
-Tocatli Honor Guard: This torpor orb on a stick has been seen before in Hushwing Gryff with flash and it didn't do anything. This one doesn't have flash or evasion which makes it even harder for me to believe that this gets there. Worth noting that the jank torpor orb deck has 12 orb effects now.
-Arguel's bloodfast: As much as I love this card's design, it has no chance of seeing play in modern. It does nothing when it ETBs, it asks you to sink 2 mana to draw a card, and the payoff is low when it flips. And no, death shadow decks would rather play painful truths than play this.
-Sentinel Totem: This seems like a good graveyard hate card until you realize that modern has things like relic of progenitus, tormod's crypt, leyline of the void, scavenging ooze, rest in peace, grafdigger's cage, etc. There is many cards that do graveyard hate better than this card does sadly.
-Deadeye Tracker: See Sentinel Totem's issues with seeing modern play. You can clearly tell that this card has been heavily nerfed to avoid a deathrite shaman 2.0 from happening.
-Vanquisher's Banner: Initially I was excited about this card for elves but the more I think about it, the most I see this card having its work cut out for it. Elves have to get to 5 mana, cast this for it's glorious anthem effect then they need more creatures in order to get the glimpse of nature effect. That seems like a winmore scenario almost everytime.
-Deeproot Champion: As much as I love miracle grow creatures, they just haven't panned out in modern because we lack good enough protection spells/they are horrid top decks. I fell for the myth realized trap once and I'm not falling for it this time. The Quirion Dryad effect isn't good enough these days sadly.
-Ripjaw Raptor: A dino for a great rate but that rate is outclassed at 1-2 mana.
-Rowdy Crew: Not as bad as many believe this to be since it does put two cards in your graveyard. The issue is that this would have to go in a deck that doesn't care about discarding random pieces. Sadly it doesn't say discard three cards so hollow one decks do not quite get there with this card.
-Ruin Raider: One of the better Bob effects in awhile. Still not good enough here.
-Ranging Raptors: Really cool build around me card that asks a lot to ramp you in a format where ramp is easy to do.
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
Nobody is talking about this card? I think it's actually pretty good.
Now you can play Boom // Bust with Flagstones of Trokair plus some mix of Ghost Quarter and Field of Ruins and have reasonably consistent turn 2 or turn 3 plays to make.
Field of Ruins is significantly better with Crucible than the others. It's still a far cry from classic land destruction but if you exhaust their basics you can lock opponents down. You still need a GQ or some traditional LD spells to complete the job
Of course this may only work against certain decks that have greedy mana, but better coverage is still a very welcome benefit for a lockdown deck.
The image isn't showing.... darn work block most likely. Even then which card you talking about?
I Stream MTGO on Twitch: broodwarjc
I also post recordings of those streams on Youtube: broodwarjcavidgamer
Standard Deck:
BUPirates
Modern Deck:
B8-Rack
It's Disperse with an added bonus of Scry 2 if the returned permanent was CMC 2 or less.
Now that I think about it, probably not better than Echoing Truth for the decks that want this type of effect
Not really.
Disperse is generally a plausibly playable card in most sets, but this one also doesn't target your own stuff to save it. Echoing Truth is just going to remain the go to card for this effect in order to get around multiple blood moons or ensaring bridges before going off.
Or goblin tokens from Empty the Warrens.
(or Cyclonic Rift in big mana decks) but it is also outclassed by boucers like Into the Roil/Repeal which can draw a card while being able to target your own permanents.
Inspiring Cleric doesn't look terrible for blinking as a bigger Lone Missionary (similar to Aven Riftwatcher that also gains 4 life).
One with the Wind as a functional reprint of Spectral Flight, though Bogles don't play Blue.
None
4
Opt
3
Chart a Course (combo decks, not aggro decks)
Kopala, Warden of Waves (it's a 4 in Merfolk, but Merfolk is like a 2.5 in the meta)
Carnage Tyrant (SB for Valakut decks)
2
Ashes of the Abhorrent
Tocatli Honor Guard
Dive Down (beats spot removal and Anger)
Deathgorge Scavenger
Old-Growth Dryads
Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Sentinel Totem (worse than Relic/Spellbomb)
Sorcerous Spyglass (worse than Needle)
Field of Ruin
Unclaimed Territory
1
The rest
Reprints: Spell Pierce, Duress, checklands
This set is pretty lackluster. The first thought that went through my mind after reading the full spoiler was "wait, is this a small set? Why are there so few playable cards?"
This set has a bunch of cards that were quite literally created by the following process:
1) Take a random, existing card.
2) Bump its mana cost up by 1 or 2.
3) Make it create Treasure tokens equal to (or less than!) the mana increase.
The end result is an unexciting spell that you cast 1 turn late. It's like if Serra Avenger was a 2/2 without flying and vigilance. Eww.
Fact or Fiction section
UG Merfolk is a thing now - Fiction, adding green strains your mana too much. Lords cost double blue and Mutavault doesn't provide colored mana. The epitome of this mana screwery is a hand containing Cavern of Souls, Mutavault, Kumena's Speaker and a lord.
Dinosaurs is a thing now - Fiction, despite a Dinosaur Ancient Stirrings and two cost reducers . The payoff isn't there.
Opt is better than 1) Serum Visions, 2) Sleight of Hand - 1) Fiction, 2) Fiction (but only because of trichotomy). SV is the best; it digs deeper than the other two as long as you have an extra draw to make. I consider Opt to be approximately equal to Sleight of Hand, so that would technically be a "fiction" for 2). I don't think you can slam all 3 in a deck that isn't pure combo like Storm though - for one, people weren't already slamming 4 SV and 4 Sleight in their decks.
I think it could replace Spoils of the Vault in Ad Nauseam; Spoils is kinda like a high-variance cantrip that can range from tutoring the exact card that you need for just 1 mana, to killing yourself by life loss/exiling wincons. Opt is more consistent.
Oketra's Last Mercy 3
Overwhelming Splendor 0
Solemnity 5
Steward of Solidarity 0
Sunscourge Champion 0
Countervailing Winds 0
Fraying Sanity 0
Kefnet's Last Word 1
Nimble Obstructionist 7
Riddleform 0
Strategic Planning 2
Striped Riverwinder 1
Supreme Will 12
Tragic Lesson 0
Ammit Eternal 0
Bontu's Last Reckoning 6
Doomfall 0
Dreamstealer 0
Liliana's Defeat 6
Lurching Rotbeast 0
Razaketh's Rite 0
Abrade 7
Crash Through 0
Firebrand Archer 0
Hazoret's Undying Fury 0
Hour of Devastation 2
Wildfire Eternal 0
Hour of Promise 31
Life Goes On 2
Pride Sovereign 0
Ramunap Excavator 22
Rhonas's Last Stand 0
Uncage the Menagerie 0
Bloodwater Entity 0
Samut, the Tested 0
Claim//Fame 20
Leave//Chance 1
Driven//Despair 9
God-Pharaoh's Gift 1
Hollow One 3
Hashep Oasis 0
Hostile Desert 1
Ifnir Deadlands 1
Ipnu Rivulet 0
Ramunap Ruins 0
Scavenger Grounds 11
Shefet Dunes 2
Confirmed: every block with gods is underpowered. Only 3 cards broke the 20-deck threshold, and one of those cards is Claim//Fame, which turned out to be much worse than the pre-release hype. The last recorded Claim//Fame deck on mtgtop8 dates back to 17/8, almost a month ago. Lesson learnt: don't pay 1 mana just to reanimate a 2 mana creature.
Hour of Promise is the most played HOU card by # of records on mtgtop8, but it's not quite a staple in Titanshift yet. Its adoption rate in that deck is 38.75%, and none of the Titanshift players who T32ed GP Birmingham played it (although GP Sao Paulo had more Hour devotees).
There's nothing left to say but how disappointing the other cards turned out. Burn has little to worry about Oketra's Last Mercy, Solemnity isn't a good combo, Fraying Sanity neither made dedicated mill nor the 2-card combo with Traumatize better, Nimble Obstructionist is nowhere near Vendilion Clique, Liliana's Defeat isn't worth the SB slot for GDS, Miracles is a pipe dream even with Bloodwater Entity, Hollow One isn't even tier 3 despite the press coverage, and every deck in Modern either plays too few fetches or is in too many colors for Hostile Desert.
RIP HOU, may you have more value than DGM in 5 years' time.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
If you cast Search, have it flip and activate it once you've spent a total of 5 mana for a few "scry"s and a new card. If you cast Think Twice with flashback you'll end up with 2 new cards in hand for the same amount of mana. The difference is, Think Twice takes a lot less hoop-jumping, and you can even do it at instant speed.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Unless, you use its manaless next ability once you fulfill the condition and convert it to a U tapping land.
If you choose that second benefit, than at any time in the future you can choose to forego tapping for U to pay for an overcosted Impulse effect.
The investment for these abilities is U1.
Dinosaurs are definitely not a thing. Being they are in naya colors, and represent a kind of stompy or "agressive midrange" area, its basically Zoo's field, and there is nothing here that makes Dinos better than zoo. No cheap threats (nacatl is a 3/3) no good mana ramp (Noble is the best aggressive mana ramp) and the cost reducers are great, they dont synergize well and wont be swinging for more than a point of damage or so.
The dinos would need to be absurd at 2-4 mana next set to make that work. As it is, dino fans just need to hope that theres a dino goyf or nacatl or something in the next set that bumps the playability of zoo or naya midrange.
As far as HOU Playability. Yeah, I thought claim might be good... but as I kept thinking about it, the only place that really is great is where you have the option of tutoring the card, thus making it a tool box spell. If the aftermath was reversed, or just different where the reanimate is the aftermath side, it would be a thousand times better. that way you can mill the effect while milling the toolbox to use from. Less work, more pay off, less raw power, more utility. But alas.
Driven doesnt have numbers behind it, but it is a 1 of in dredge now, and is played. Dredge isnt all that great right now, but its a very good 1 of, and in dredge it shows up in the yard more often than not. Its on par with stuff like rally, scourge devil and haunted dead.
Regisaur Alpha does a cute thragtusk impression
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards
Even tribal decks have sufficient selfish creatures in order to make them work.
That gives us 8 creatures to work around that provide some form of card advantage.
8 Cards for board wipes and enabling our dinos to activate. More targetted removal might be better. even a Gut Shot should be considered.
Now we need some support cards to assist our dinos
Additional 6 Dinos and both are pretty strong cards that help chomp our way to victory. Raging Swordtooth acts as Pyroclasm 5-6 as well.
16 Utility cards, some manafixing and acceleration that doesn't die to our pyroclasms, and even a draw engine to boot. And some fun cards like Arlinn Kord.
22 Lands with fetches, shocks, ghost quarters, Raging Ravine, and a Kessig Wolf's Run should round that out nicely.
And there we go we have a Dinosaur Deck that looks decently strong against weenie decks like Affinity and Death and Taxes. The dinos look like they'll still get eaten by Death's Shadow, Gurmag's, and Eldrazi's though. And there's no way for them to really stop titan shift unless they slap their sideboard with some stone rains and stuff.
And I think Pirates have a better shot at showing up in Modern than the Dinos.
Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards