Are AMK split cards under evaluated or just underwhelming? I think it's a little of both but I also believe they are more powerful than they appear on the surface.
The fact that they're 2-for-1s means WotC probably powered them down on purpose because making both halves good and cheap to cast would easily make them broken. For example: if one half was Mana Leak and the other half was Lightning Bolt that would obviously not be balanced. And if one half was Negate and the other half was Shock? Probably still too good for standard. So they tried their best to give us 2 fair spells in 1, one half instant speed the other half or both halves sorcery speed, and it's up to us to figure out which ones are actually worth playing.
The more I think about this card the more I like it. One half combat trick, one half removal. So in the absolute best case scenario, this could serve as a double removal spell.
First of all the Prepare half alone is good with exert creatures since it untaps a guy. So you could surprise block and eat something while also gaining a bunch of life. Then use your powerful exert ability again.
Or you could simply use it as a pump spell. I know +2/+2 doesn't sound like much but imagine targeting your indestructible Gideon or God with it? That's potentially a 14 point lifeswing!
The Fight half is the worst one and most of us would probably never play a card like this in standard. We don't even think Prey Upon is good enough for standard so why would we play a worse Hunt The Weak? Well that's where many players are evaluating these cards wrong in my opinion. It doesn't matter if it's over costed for what it does and it doesn't matter if there are better and cheaper fight spells. What matters is that "Prepare" is decent enough and gives you a fight spell as a completely free bonus.
And of course, you can do both. Yes, 6 mana is a lot but not impossible to do in standard. Once again, imagine turning Gideon, Ally of Zendikar or Rhonas into a 7/7 lifelink indestructible creature and having it fight a creature, you gain 7 and kill something, then you swing for another 7 lifelink damage. All of that for 6 mana? Sign me up.
Commit is a far better Unsubstantiate but costs 4 mana. Is that too much? I'm not sure but I really like the idea of getting rid of planeswalkers or troublesome enchantments / artifacts / creatures at instant speed, for one full turn, then knowing what your opponent is about to draw. And since you know what they're about to draw, you can take advantage of this information to mill the card you bounced with Commit. Or if you have 6 mana available simply cast Memory.
Similar to Day's Undoing, the Memory half has obvious synergies with Engulf the Shore and that alone might make it playable in mono blue or UW prison style decks.
I think this will be the standard staple ramp spell. It's very similar to Hedron Archive in that it ramps you and late game can draw you 2 cards. But I think it's better than a mana rock considering all the artifact hate floating around.
Also playing this instead of Hedron Archive means that on t4 you can affect the board in a more meaningful way, for example with Sweltering Suns and have 2 mana up for Negate or to play around Censor. t4 Hedron Archive gets gobbled up by Censor, then again so does t3 Spring but you don't feel as bad about getting this countered since you still have access to the 2nd half later.
Reduce half is a strictly worse Spell Shrivel. The Rubble half is something we haven't really seen but I'm quite intrigued by it. The first thing Rubble makes me think about is Elder Deep-Fiend and his ability to tap down lands during the opponent's upkeep. Obviously Elder Deep-Fiend is more powerful because you get a big body and can also tap down creatures at instant speed. However the effect is similar and who's to say we can't use both?
Imagine this: They try to cast a 4 mana planeswalker on t4, you counter it with Reduce. Now you untap, play a land and Rubble them, keeping their most important lands tapped. Now on their turn they only have 1 or 2 mana available. So to me it's like Rubble makes both players "skip" their turn 5 and that could potentially advantage the draw go control player.
Also you can make sure that their blue mana stays tapped so that they can't counter spell your combo or bomb next turn. I think this has potential.
Granted, if split cards and Embalm become highly played in standard, then you might want to play Spell Shrivel or Void Shatter instead. But I wouldn't completely dismiss this one.
I don't have much to say about this one other than state the very obvious: It's 2x pump spells in one card. You turn your 4/4 trampler into 8 trample damage. Then next turn you can do it again. That seems at least worth considering. Unfortunately it doesn't give the creature trample so that makes it less appealing for Pummeler decks. But maybe a deck that only has trample creatures could consider it.
The Amonkhet "split" cards are inherent two for ones. Anytime you can use one slot and get two cards, that's a good level of value. To make them viable in constructed, however, both sides need to be relevant in a deck. Otherwise, you're just casting a one-sided slightly over-costed card. That said here's my list of the five cards I think have the most chance to see standard play.
5. Start to Finish
One more mana for a Raise the Alarms isn't bad but it isn't ideal. Vigilance on 1/1's is a consolation prize at best. And a 3 mana Bone Splinters is really not what most decks are looking for. But stapled to each other I think gives this card a shot in some attrition or aristocrats deck. Instant speed tokens have their value and a removal in the yard, even one that costs three mana and a creature, can still be relevant. It's at the lowest spot but I think this has a chance.
4. Commit to Memory
The first half of this card is... ok. Four mana is a big price for a small tuck effect but it answers pretty much anything you don't want to deal with for a few turns. It's Memory that has the real value that I think control style decks might love a copy of, even at sorcery speed where your opponent has the first go with a full grip. It's lower on the list because all the drawbacks are more than apparent. If there's a way to cheat Memory into play, I think this could see limited play in main decks but it's dependant on the right deck in the right meta.
3. Failure to Comply Reflector Mage, this isn't but Failure is still an only slightly worse Remand and I could see a world where more than one comply in the yard could be very frustrating to play against. Not much to say about the card. The ceiling isn't high and the floor isn't too low but there's just enough going on where this could make small waves.
2. Cut to Ribbons
My personal favorite of the split cards this set. Cut is a fairly costed removal in red attached to free reach in Ribbons that always threaten to end the game. In aggro or midrange I think this has the right amount of value to find a home in decks playing red and black. This is the first one I'm fairly confident will see play. This one and...
1. Dusk to Dawn
It's a four mana board wipe. Granted, it's not great against early aggro decks but it's a great build around wipe. Kill off all the big things on a turn where you have a wide board presence and have a card in the yard that can refill your grip later. It was the first card of the set leaked and I honestly think it'll find a home somewhere.
I think it's interesting that we all had different picks lol. If anything it just shows how hard these are to evaluate and that each split card probably has potential.
Personally I'm not a fan of Dusk to Dawn. Dusk is not really a clean board wipe. Most of the time it will be 4 mana to kill 2 creatures at sorcery speed which is decent but not great. And killing only 1 creature is worse than Ruinous Path. The Dawn half is strong however and will probably see play in some weird combo deck or out of sideboards vs grindy matchups.
I'm split about Cut to Ribbons. Cut is reminiscent of Roast, which was definitely playable back when Siege Rhino and Courser of Kruphix were dominating standard. I just really don't like sorcery speed removal in the current standard. There's a lot of powerful new creatures that have haste (Glorybringer, Crocodile of the Crossing, Ahn-Crop Crasheretc.) or can give haste which makes sorcery speed removal even worse. But if they ban Saheeli Rai or Felidar Guardian then it becomes at least acceptable to play Cut. Ribbons is alright to finish them off but it can't be the only win con for control decks (I mean I guess it could lol). But it mostly gives aggro / burn a little bit more reach which is nice.
Mouth to Feed is interesting. The Feed part has potential to be better than Harmonize in the right deck. And the Mouth part is not great but definitely decent.
Insult to Injury has spiked recently and I think it's probably justified. The Insult half is certainly powerful and can lead to a ton of damage, possibly t3 or t4 kills. And the fact that it prevents damage prevention naturally makes it an answer to new Gideon and turbo fog (if it even becomes a thing).
Commit // Memory for the sole reason I flash in Gearhulk end of their turn and target Memory to start my turn with 7 cards
Memory is a sorcery.
Yes, but in the graveyard the entire card is an instant sorcery, meaning you can target either half. It doesn't become a sorcery only until on the stack, after gearhulk's etb trigger resolves
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Standard - Some kind of control
Modern - UB Mill (casual)
EDH - Meren's Grave Shenanigans
Mouth // Feed is a sleeper. Combine with Kaladesh block that does +1/+1 counters and crewing Vehicles also works. Feed also works after playing an effect that gives all your creatures a power boost. On another thought crossing over with Green, Prowess creatures can also meet the condition by just playing a non-creature spell first then Feed.
The fact that they're 2-for-1s means WotC probably powered them down on purpose because making both halves good and cheap to cast would easily make them broken. For example: if one half was Mana Leak and the other half was Lightning Bolt that would obviously not be balanced. And if one half was Negate and the other half was Shock? Probably still too good for standard. So they tried their best to give us 2 fair spells in 1, one half instant speed the other half or both halves sorcery speed, and it's up to us to figure out which ones are actually worth playing.
Personally, my top 5 best split cards are these:
1. Prepare to Fight
The more I think about this card the more I like it. One half combat trick, one half removal. So in the absolute best case scenario, this could serve as a double removal spell.
First of all the Prepare half alone is good with exert creatures since it untaps a guy. So you could surprise block and eat something while also gaining a bunch of life. Then use your powerful exert ability again.
Or you could simply use it as a pump spell. I know +2/+2 doesn't sound like much but imagine targeting your indestructible Gideon or God with it? That's potentially a 14 point lifeswing!
The Fight half is the worst one and most of us would probably never play a card like this in standard. We don't even think Prey Upon is good enough for standard so why would we play a worse Hunt The Weak? Well that's where many players are evaluating these cards wrong in my opinion. It doesn't matter if it's over costed for what it does and it doesn't matter if there are better and cheaper fight spells. What matters is that "Prepare" is decent enough and gives you a fight spell as a completely free bonus.
Any deck running Rhonas the Indomitable or Oketra the True should be interested in a fight spell to kill anything on the other side of the board.
And of course, you can do both. Yes, 6 mana is a lot but not impossible to do in standard. Once again, imagine turning Gideon, Ally of Zendikar or Rhonas into a 7/7 lifelink indestructible creature and having it fight a creature, you gain 7 and kill something, then you swing for another 7 lifelink damage. All of that for 6 mana? Sign me up.
2. Commit to Memory
Commit is a far better Unsubstantiate but costs 4 mana. Is that too much? I'm not sure but I really like the idea of getting rid of planeswalkers or troublesome enchantments / artifacts / creatures at instant speed, for one full turn, then knowing what your opponent is about to draw. And since you know what they're about to draw, you can take advantage of this information to mill the card you bounced with Commit. Or if you have 6 mana available simply cast Memory.
Similar to Day's Undoing, the Memory half has obvious synergies with Engulf the Shore and that alone might make it playable in mono blue or UW prison style decks.
I think this will be the standard staple ramp spell. It's very similar to Hedron Archive in that it ramps you and late game can draw you 2 cards. But I think it's better than a mana rock considering all the artifact hate floating around.
Also playing this instead of Hedron Archive means that on t4 you can affect the board in a more meaningful way, for example with Sweltering Suns and have 2 mana up for Negate or to play around Censor. t4 Hedron Archive gets gobbled up by Censor, then again so does t3 Spring but you don't feel as bad about getting this countered since you still have access to the 2nd half later.
Reduce half is a strictly worse Spell Shrivel. The Rubble half is something we haven't really seen but I'm quite intrigued by it. The first thing Rubble makes me think about is Elder Deep-Fiend and his ability to tap down lands during the opponent's upkeep. Obviously Elder Deep-Fiend is more powerful because you get a big body and can also tap down creatures at instant speed. However the effect is similar and who's to say we can't use both?
Imagine this: They try to cast a 4 mana planeswalker on t4, you counter it with Reduce. Now you untap, play a land and Rubble them, keeping their most important lands tapped. Now on their turn they only have 1 or 2 mana available. So to me it's like Rubble makes both players "skip" their turn 5 and that could potentially advantage the draw go control player.
Also you can make sure that their blue mana stays tapped so that they can't counter spell your combo or bomb next turn. I think this has potential.
Granted, if split cards and Embalm become highly played in standard, then you might want to play Spell Shrivel or Void Shatter instead. But I wouldn't completely dismiss this one.
I don't have much to say about this one other than state the very obvious: It's 2x pump spells in one card. You turn your 4/4 trampler into 8 trample damage. Then next turn you can do it again. That seems at least worth considering. Unfortunately it doesn't give the creature trample so that makes it less appealing for Pummeler decks. But maybe a deck that only has trample creatures could consider it.
What are your favorite split cards so far?
5. Start to Finish
One more mana for a Raise the Alarms isn't bad but it isn't ideal. Vigilance on 1/1's is a consolation prize at best. And a 3 mana Bone Splinters is really not what most decks are looking for. But stapled to each other I think gives this card a shot in some attrition or aristocrats deck. Instant speed tokens have their value and a removal in the yard, even one that costs three mana and a creature, can still be relevant. It's at the lowest spot but I think this has a chance.
4. Commit to Memory
The first half of this card is... ok. Four mana is a big price for a small tuck effect but it answers pretty much anything you don't want to deal with for a few turns. It's Memory that has the real value that I think control style decks might love a copy of, even at sorcery speed where your opponent has the first go with a full grip. It's lower on the list because all the drawbacks are more than apparent. If there's a way to cheat Memory into play, I think this could see limited play in main decks but it's dependant on the right deck in the right meta.
3. Failure to Comply
Reflector Mage, this isn't but Failure is still an only slightly worse Remand and I could see a world where more than one comply in the yard could be very frustrating to play against. Not much to say about the card. The ceiling isn't high and the floor isn't too low but there's just enough going on where this could make small waves.
2. Cut to Ribbons
My personal favorite of the split cards this set. Cut is a fairly costed removal in red attached to free reach in Ribbons that always threaten to end the game. In aggro or midrange I think this has the right amount of value to find a home in decks playing red and black. This is the first one I'm fairly confident will see play. This one and...
1. Dusk to Dawn
It's a four mana board wipe. Granted, it's not great against early aggro decks but it's a great build around wipe. Kill off all the big things on a turn where you have a wide board presence and have a card in the yard that can refill your grip later. It was the first card of the set leaked and I honestly think it'll find a home somewhere.
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I LIKE DRAGONS!
Personally I'm not a fan of Dusk to Dawn. Dusk is not really a clean board wipe. Most of the time it will be 4 mana to kill 2 creatures at sorcery speed which is decent but not great. And killing only 1 creature is worse than Ruinous Path. The Dawn half is strong however and will probably see play in some weird combo deck or out of sideboards vs grindy matchups.
I'm split about Cut to Ribbons. Cut is reminiscent of Roast, which was definitely playable back when Siege Rhino and Courser of Kruphix were dominating standard. I just really don't like sorcery speed removal in the current standard. There's a lot of powerful new creatures that have haste (Glorybringer, Crocodile of the Crossing, Ahn-Crop Crasheretc.) or can give haste which makes sorcery speed removal even worse. But if they ban Saheeli Rai or Felidar Guardian then it becomes at least acceptable to play Cut. Ribbons is alright to finish them off but it can't be the only win con for control decks (I mean I guess it could lol). But it mostly gives aggro / burn a little bit more reach which is nice.
Mouth to Feed is interesting. The Feed part has potential to be better than Harmonize in the right deck. And the Mouth part is not great but definitely decent.
Insult to Injury has spiked recently and I think it's probably justified. The Insult half is certainly powerful and can lead to a ton of damage, possibly t3 or t4 kills. And the fact that it prevents damage prevention naturally makes it an answer to new Gideon and turbo fog (if it even becomes a thing).
Standard - Some kind of control
Modern - UB Mill (casual)
EDH - Meren's Grave Shenanigans
Yes, but in the graveyard the entire card is an instant sorcery, meaning you can target either half. It doesn't become a sorcery only until on the stack, after gearhulk's etb trigger resolves
Standard - Some kind of control
Modern - UB Mill (casual)
EDH - Meren's Grave Shenanigans