MTG Salvation

Ruinous Path

Sorcery speed Hero's Downfall. Interesting. Im sure this will be standard playable after Downfall rotates. Awaken is nice.

Hero's Shriekmaw. Should be a constructed staple.

Edit: Shriekmaw is way better than Terror. The body here is not nearly as competitive, but I suspect it might still be even so slightly better than Downfall.

I like this. If you build your deck right, it's removal and a wincon wrapped into one.

Should have just reprinted Downfall.

Anyway, I guess KTK Sarkhan might be seeing some play before rotation.

I imagine sorcery speed will hurt it, though. And Awaken always seemed to me to make the land rather vulnerable to removal or wipes -- that last hurting particularly control decks who might use the card. Maybe by the time you're awakening it, you'll want the threat more than the risk of losing land. I don't know, I'm not a Standard player.

Regardless, I do like it. The artwork's pretty cool.

Starting to get really sick and tired of seeing utility cards printed at rare because Wizards is absolutely scared to death of seeing unconditional removal in Limited. Would it really have ruined Limited to have this at uncommon?

Quote from Surging Chaos »

Starting to get really sick and tired of seeing utility cards printed at rare because Wizards is absolutely scared to death of seeing unconditional removal in Limited. Would it really have ruined Limited to have this at uncommon?

Iirc, since New World Order, Wizards doesn't like interacting directly with planeswalkers at anything below rare. The only one I can find is Shifting Loyalties, and that I don't think qualifies.

Quote from Phosphorus »

Quote from Surging Chaos »

Starting to get really sick and tired of seeing utility cards printed at rare because Wizards is absolutely scared to death of seeing unconditional removal in Limited. Would it really have ruined Limited to have this at uncommon?

Iirc, since New World Order, Wizards doesn't like interacting directly with planeswalkers at anything below rare. The only one I can find is Shifting Loyalties, and that I don't think qualifies.

Banishing Light
Suppression Bonds
Disperse


Maybe?

Quote from jshrwd »

Quote from Phosphorus »

Quote from Surging Chaos »

Starting to get really sick and tired of seeing utility cards printed at rare because Wizards is absolutely scared to death of seeing unconditional removal in Limited. Would it really have ruined Limited to have this at uncommon?

Iirc, since New World Order, Wizards doesn't like interacting directly with planeswalkers at anything below rare. The only one I can find is Shifting Loyalties, and that I don't think qualifies.

Banishing Light
Suppression Bonds
Disperse
Anchor to the Æther


Maybe?

Anchor to the Æther? Also, those all reference a 'nonland permanent' -- not referencing planeswalkers directly.

Great card. I often main phase a downfall. Obviously instant speed utility is very valuable though. Ultimate Price can't kill Dragonlord Ojutai.

There's always Utter End which probably gets a little better without the pro white menace Stormbreath Dragon in standard.

This will definitely see play. Downfall is a necessary effect in midrange decks (especially since there are likely to be more planeswalkers in this block than an average 2 sets), and control decks like the added potential wincon (in a format with Eldrazi ramp, waiting for 1-2 copies of Ugin is not likely to to be viable). Having extra ways to win stapled onto effective early/midgame cards is quite helpful.

I will admit, I was just expecting a Downfall reprint with flavor "eldrazi>hero"

Whoops! Removed

Quote from "CalvinSchwa »

Also, those all reference a 'nonland permanent' -- not referencing planeswalkers directly.

What's the difference? If it interacts with a nonland permanent, it interacts with a planeswalker, right?

Quote from jshrwd »

Quote from "CalvinSchwa »

Also, those all reference a 'nonland permanent' -- not referencing planeswalkers directly.

What's the difference? If it interacts with a nonland permanent, it interacts with a planeswalker, right?

Apparently the word "planeswalker" itself is supposed to carry "quality", even if it's not on the typeline.

I don't agree with it either, but that's how it is (for now).

Hero's Downfall --> Ruinous Path

It's Nerf. Or nothing.

This isn't just doom blade, its also got serious utility in the late game with the awaken. This is just too good of a 1st pick to be uncommon.

I think the goal of the new set is to slow down Standard. Don't hold your mana for instants; play big threats to clog up the board, or cast removal on your own turn. Don't respond so quickly, and instead let the game get to turn 10 or 12. Y'know, take your time. Swing with a few Ingest creatures. Cast an Oblivion Sower and ramp up to Twolamog.

It will be played in Standard a lot, probably because there won't be a better card in his role. Even though, it's way worse than Downfall early game, and Awaken is booooring.

Quote from Phosphorus »

Iirc, since New World Order, Wizards doesn't like interacting directly with planeswalkers at anything below rare. The only one I can find is Shifting Loyalties, and that I don't think qualifies.

NWO *only* deals with complexity at common, not power level, not uncommon.

Also pretty much every burn spell ever interacts directly with PW and those are frequently common.

Quote from Boromir of Borg »

Also pretty much every burn spell ever interacts directly with PW and those are frequently common.

My intent by that statement was this:

Quote from Yatsufusa »

Apparently the word "planeswalker" itself is supposed to carry "quality", even if it's not on the typeline.

The word "planeswalker" normally should not appear on a card's rules text below rare. And yes, this is NWO: it affects what can be printed at common (i.e. not this) as a form of reducing card complexity. The term "planeswalker" doesn't appear as rules text on commons - it's only appeared on commons as reminder text for trample. There are only two instances at uncommon in which it does:

1) Attacking the planeswalker with a creature, ex. Circle of Flame or Hunter's Insight. This is not interaction with planeswalkers so much as it is a statement of a rules mechanic: yes, planeswalkers can be attacked.
2) As a card type in your hand, ex. Despise. This isn't interacting with the board, so there isn't the requisite complexity.

All effects that don't fit into those categories (ex. Dreadbore, Pyromancer's Gauntlet, Tragic Arrogance) appear at rare.

Except that Despise appears at uncommon. It's specifically planeswalker destruction that gets bumped to rare, which they've said is for flavor reasons.

Tragic Arrogance is a sweeper so it would be rare regardless. Damage increasing stuff is usually at rare as well.

I hate sorcery speed.

Well OBVIOUSLY they weren't going to make it strictly better than Hero's Downfall. Either sorcery speed or 4 mana. I'm fine with this.

Will probably be better for midrange, but maybe some sort of tap-out control could use it. Straight U/B might be able to, but sorcery speed makes it hurt a lot, and definitely makes it harder to run it as a 4-of.

I think Utter End is going to end up seeing more play, as it seems like things might be slowing down a bit with all these good, big spells(and no Stormbreath Dragon to hate it out).