I though that with the prerelease barreling down on us along with the fact that we have the almost full spoiler, it would be a good time to discuss what cards to look out for on Saturday when we play in the prerelease. I'd say mainly only mention the commons/uncommons when discussing, since the odds of opening X rare is pretty slim. I'll start with white, and edit the others in as I finish them. These are my opinions, I may be right on some, way off on others. I'd like to hear what the rest of you say.
WHITE:
Empty Shrine Kannushi: might be useful to bring in after game one, if the opponent is playing a similar deck/colors.
Faithful Squire: Could be amazing in a deck with enough spirit/arcane in it, otherwise it becomes less tempting.
Genju of the Fields: Solid card. Good maybe in a W/U deck where you lock up the ground while some fliers win for you.
Heart of light: Might be okay, could be used on one of an opponents fatties to effectively turn him into a wall, or on one of your own creatures to stop non-tramplers.
100-Talon Strike: Nice little combat trick, if I run white and get one of these, I'd use it.
Indebted Samurai: Have to wait, see if we get full card. Sounds neat, though.
Kami of False Hope: Well, it's a new fog frog, although fog effects aren't so great in limited, with the exception of white arcane fog in Dampen Thought.dec
Kami of Honored Dead: Might be to expensive to do alot of good. A good body with a good ability makes him worth a look.
Kami of Tattered Shoji: I don't like it, a 2/5 that flies sometimes for 4W? At least the cost makes him splashable
Kitsune Palliator: Bad, effect almost would be tempting if it either prevented two or only you an your creatures. 0/2 for 2W doesn't help much either.
Mending Hands: an okay combat trick, not much more.
Moonlit Strider: Seems decent, Soulshift 3 plus a decent trick makes useful at times.
Scour: Only useful as a card to 'board in when an opponent has troublesome enchantments.
Silverstor Samurai: Would be bad if it wasn't for some combat trickiness. As it is, is only okay at best.
Split-Tail Miko: Could be good. Better than the Palliator, at least. I'd use this if I see it.
Takeno's Cavalry: Bad, Bad, BAD! Don't use this.
Tallowisp: If you've got the enchant creatures to make worthwhile, use it. If not, stay away.
Terashi's Grasp: Good sideboard card. Not maindeck worthy.
Terashi's Verdict: Nice card, I'd use this. Good combat trick.
Ward of Piety: Interesting, it could be useful with the right deck.
Waxmane Baku: With enough spirit/arcane it can finish a long game.
BLUE:
Callow Jushi: See Faithful Squire. A bit stronger ability early-mid game not so strong late game.
Floodbringer: It flies, I'll give it that. The ability is crap.
Genju of Falls: Very nice, better than white genju.
Heed the Mists: Too risky in limited. I think the cost outweighs the benefits.
Jetting Glasskite: A fat body with flying that will at least makes your opponent go 2+ for one. For only 4UU? I'll take that. Amazing!
Kaijin of Vanishing Touch: Decent at best, I think. May be better than I think.
Minamo's Meddling: Okay limited counter, at best.
Minamo Sightbender: Reuseable creature evasion makes this shine. Can help end deadlocks. Before I forget, this guy loves the ninjas.
Mistblade Shinobi: Could be good if you could sneak it through multiple times somehow...
Ninja of Deep Hours: Not too shabby becomes better if you can get it evasion.
Phantom Wings: Not bad, evasion plus it saves the critter it enchants. (Sidebar: This is a reprint isn't it? Phantom Wings)
Quash: In limted, Minamo Meddling is better.
Quillmane Baku: Not as good as the white one.
Ribbons of Reikai: Good in spirit heavy deck, otherwise, not so much.
Shimmering Glasskite: I'd like it a lot more if it flew. As it is, I'd say mediocre.
Soratami Mindsweeper: Interesting ability on a mediocre body, I'll pass.
Stream of Consciousness: Could be okay if the game goes long, otherwise...
Teardrop kami: It might take out a blocker, but unspectacular, I don't like it.
Threads of Disloyalty: Mediocre, I think.
Toils of Night and Day: Seems okay. Allows for some combat tricks.
Veil of Secrecy: Not bad, ninjas love this, along with fatties, I'm not crazy about the splice cost, nut I'd use this card.
Walker of Secret Ways: Seems weak to me. It bounces a ninja back to your hand, but the tempo loss seems kinda bad. Allows for some nifty mind games.
BLACK:
Bile Urchin: Not so good,well it might be useful with multiple soulshift triggers.
Blessings of Leeches: A bit risky, but I like it.
Call for Blood: My first instinct was that it sucked, but it might be good. When damage goes on stack, sac a creature thats lined up for lethal damage to take out another.
Crawling filth: Splashable crap.
Eradicate: Good stuff. I liked it back in Destiny and I still like it now.
Genju of Fens: A late game nightmare. This could be very dangerous.
Hired Muscle: The second best betrayer, in my opinion. Very good with spirits.
Horobi's Whisper: Very good. Good splice cost too. And a common? Black is going to be very strong on Saturday.
Mark of the Oni: At the worst its still pretty good removal, even better w/ a demon.
Nezumi Shadow-Watcher: Good ninja hoser. That being said, its good in sideboard but not as good main deck.
Ogre Marauder: Nice card. Very useable.
Okiba-Gang Shinobi: Okay, might be good but I'm not certain.
Psychic Spear: Another good sibeboard card. This might be good enough for maindeck, seeing as though almost everyone uses some spirit/arcane in limited
Pus Kami: Not so good. Black already has enough good kill. I guess if you haven't gotten much kill it could be useful.
Scourge of Numai: Okay if you don't have an ogre, good if you do.
Skullmane Baku: I'd run Pus Kami over this one.
Skullsnatcher: Good cheap critter, has worst ninja trigger besides Walker of Secret Ways.
Stir the Grave: Pretty good, I'd use this.
Takenuma Bleeder: Good little critter. The drawback is pretty negligible.
Three Tragedies: Bad. Don't use this.
Throat Slitter: Great critter, this has the best non-rare ninja trigger.
RED:
Akki Blizzard-Herder:Bad, weak critter, killing land in limited isn't very strong as far as I know.
Akki Raider: Decent critter, nice synergy with the Avalanchers from ChK.
Ashen Monstosity: Not very good. Expensive and for a fatty, fragile.
Aura Barbs: Useless.
Blademane Baku: If you can sneak him through later in the game, he can be deadly.
Crack the Earth: Not so good. It'll get a land.
Cunning bandit: Good Card, it has potential to be a killer. If only he gave haste...
First Volley: Might be good, takes care of one-toughness pests and can finish off a creature near-death.
Flames of BLood Hand: might be okay if you can get the opponent low enough.
Frost Ogre: Okay as filler, if you need more critters for your deck
Frostling: Decent, makes combat very tricky for an opponent.
Genju of Spires: Might slowly overwhelm opponent, I don't like it that much, but I'd use it.
Goblin Cohort: Pretty bad.
Ire of Kaminari: I wouldn't use this unless I had a big bunch of Arcane spells, and even then only maybe.
Kumano's Blessing: Not so good.
Ogre Recluse: Too unreliable, I don't like it.
Overblaze: Not so good. Could be used to finish someone off.
Ronin Cliffrider: I don't like it. It seems kind of bad, it'll at least trade with most creatures.
Shinka Gatekeeper: Risky, but useable.
Sowing Salt: Useless
Torrent of Stone: Decent creature kill, splice is a bit pricy.
GREEN:
Body of Jukai: Seems to expensive, but could finish someone off, it's a good thing it has trample.
Budoka Pupil: The best of the Betrayers, use it if you get it.
Child of Thorns: I like it, a mini Burr Grafter.
Forked-Branch Garami: Great critter, use this guy if you crack him. I like the double soulshift.
Genju of Cedar: This guy'll be had to deal with. Very good.
Gnarled Mass: Decent critter with much potential to be shifted back to hand after he dies.
Harbinger of Spring: Seems pretty bad to me, too fragile.
Lifespinner: Pretty bad unless you open a really good non-Myojin spirit legend.
Loam Dweller: A grizzly that can do some accelerating, he could make main deck.
Mark of Sakiko: Not so good. Marginal at best.
Matsu-Tribe Sniper: He should make your deck, he give green a way to stop flyers.
Petalmane Baku: Might be a decnt mana-fixer.
Roar of Jukai: Might be a nifty combat trick.
Sakura-Tribe Springcaller: Good blocker, could be pretty useful.
Scaled Hulk: Pretty good for a common, good spirit/arcane trigger.
Sosuke's Summons: Might be good with enough snakes.
Splinter: Not so good.
Traproot Kami: Not so good, at least he can stop fliers.
Unchecked Growth: Excellent. Very, very good.
Uproot: Bad.
Vital Surge: Lifegain in limited isn't so good.
LAND:
God's Eye, Gate to Reikai: Not so good.
ARTIFACTS:
Blinding Powder: Tricky, but still marginal.
Ronin Warclub: Not bad, you should be able to play enough creatures to avoid having to pay the equip cost.
Shuko: Marginal, at least its an extra point where you want it.
Shruiken: It looks useful, but it might be too risky.
Empty-Shrine Kannushi: You may be right, but I'm not really sure this guy does enough, being only a 1/1, to justify siding him in. I probably wouldn't bother.
Faithful Squire: Like all of the new Flip Legends, this guy is borderline unfair in Limited. Less so than the Red or Green ones, but a 3/4 flier with a relevant is ability is something you always want to play.
Genju of the Fields: Solid, especially as blocking becomes more important against ninja decks. Pretty much all of the Genjus (except Realm) are auto-includes, just because of the staying power they offer.
Heart of Light: Moderately acceptable if you're desperate for removal, but Sandskin wasn't very good and it still isn't.
Hundred-Talon Stike: This is a nasty trick and cheap to splice onto, much like Blessed Breath was before it. This card is less versatile than Breath, but it would take a whole lot of great cards for me to not play this.
Kami of False Hope: Fogs aren't great in limited, but a Fog that comes down early and beats for awhile might not be bad. Definately worthwhile in more controlling decks, but probably not necessary in aggro-white.
Kami of Tattered Shoji: Comparable to Hundred-Talon Kami... much bigger butt, but no soulshift and only occasionally flies. Seems like a glorified wall, but 2/5 is a whole lot of body in this format. I like it better than Kami of Old Stone, for what that's worth.
Kitsune Palliator: Weird card. Might actually be good in a race - all your creatures deal full damage, all his deal one less. Useless in combat however, so probably best suited for U/W fliers. I'd like it more if it was 1W.
Mending Hands: If it was arcane, it'd be okay. If it was "Divided as you choose among creatures you control" it'd be okay. As it is, its a bad Blessed Breath. Thumbs down.
Moonlit Strider: A good replacement for Harsh Deceiver, a much better one actually. Blocks the three power guys, saves an important creature, soulshifts a guy back. Sorta like a reverse Scuttling Death (okay, not really).
Scour: Useless in limited.
Silverstorm Kitsune: It's a bad Tangle Spider. You could play it, but I'd avoid it if I could. Would be good for 1 mana less.
Split-Tail Miko: Loxodon Anchorite and Pearl Shard dominted combat when they saw play. This guy will be the same, except cheaper and more vulnerable. Definately play this one.
Takeno's Cavalry: Overcosted. A situational Frostwielder. Blech.
Tallowisp: Acceptable becuase its a cheap, solid defender and a spirit. If you've got at least two or three good enchant creatures, I'd play this just for the card advantage.
Terashi's Grasp: Yup, sideboard fare. Makes Hondens cry.
Terashi's Verdict: White has definately had worse removal spells. Cheap, arcane and versatile. Scoop this up quick and play it.
Ward of Piety: Turn a guy into a Zealous Inquisitor. Would be nice if you could play it as an instant. As it is, its a little slow but makes for one hell of a tough blocker.
Waxmane Baku: Very solid, like a time-delay Teller of Tales. Not as good as because it doesn't fly or untap guys, but more versatile as you can save up counters for when you need them.
You raise an interesting point about the Kitsune Palliator, I hadn't thought about it like that. I'm still not too sure about it, but it has taken a big jump from when I thought about it last.
WHITE:
Empty Shrine Kannushi: might be useful to bring in after game one, if the opponent is playing a similar deck/colors.
Faithful Squire: Could be amazing in a deck with enough spirit/arcane in it, otherwise it becomes less tempting.
Genju of the Fields: Solid card. Good maybe in a W/U deck where you lock up the ground while some fliers win for you.
Heart of light: Might be okay, could be used on one of an opponents fatties to effectively turn him into a wall, or on one of your own creatures to stop non-tramplers.
100-Talon Strike: Nice little combat trick, if I run white and get one of these, I'd use it.
Indebted Samurai: Have to wait, see if we get full card. Sounds neat, though.
Kami of False Hope: Well, it's a new fog frog, although fog effects aren't so great in limited, with the exception of white arcane fog in Dampen Thought.dec
Kami of Honored Dead: Might be to expensive to do alot of good. A good body with a good ability makes him worth a look.
Kami of Tattered Shoji: I don't like it, a 2/5 that flies sometimes for 4W? At least the cost makes him splashable
Kitsune Palliator: Bad, effect almost would be tempting if it either prevented two or only you an your creatures. 0/2 for 2W doesn't help much either.
Mending Hands: an okay combat trick, not much more.
Moonlit Strider: Seems decent, Soulshift 3 plus a decent trick makes useful at times.
Scour: Only useful as a card to 'board in when an opponent has troublesome enchantments.
Silverstor Samurai: Would be bad if it wasn't for some combat trickiness. As it is, is only okay at best.
Split-Tail Miko: Could be good. Better than the Palliator, at least. I'd use this if I see it.
Takeno's Cavalry: Bad, Bad, BAD! Don't use this.
Tallowisp: If you've got the enchant creatures to make worthwhile, use it. If not, stay away.
Terashi's Grasp: Good sideboard card. Not maindeck worthy.
Terashi's Verdict: Nice card, I'd use this. Good combat trick.
Ward of Piety: Interesting, it could be useful with the right deck.
Waxmane Baku: With enough spirit/arcane it can finish a long game.
BLUE:
Callow Jushi: See Faithful Squire. A bit stronger ability early-mid game not so strong late game.
Floodbringer: It flies, I'll give it that. The ability is crap.
Genju of Falls: Very nice, better than white genju.
Heed the Mists: Too risky in limited. I think the cost outweighs the benefits.
Jetting Glasskite: A fat body with flying that will at least makes your opponent go 2+ for one. For only 4UU? I'll take that. Amazing!
Kaijin of Vanishing Touch: Decent at best, I think. May be better than I think.
Minamo's Meddling: Okay limited counter, at best.
Minamo Sightbender: Reuseable creature evasion makes this shine. Can help end deadlocks. Before I forget, this guy loves the ninjas.
Mistblade Shinobi: Could be good if you could sneak it through multiple times somehow...
Ninja of Deep Hours: Not too shabby becomes better if you can get it evasion.
Phantom Wings: Not bad, evasion plus it saves the critter it enchants. (Sidebar: This is a reprint isn't it? Phantom Wings)
Quash: In limted, Minamo Meddling is better.
Quillmane Baku: Not as good as the white one.
Ribbons of Reikai: Good in spirit heavy deck, otherwise, not so much.
Shimmering Glasskite: I'd like it a lot more if it flew. As it is, I'd say mediocre.
Soratami Mindsweeper: Interesting ability on a mediocre body, I'll pass.
Stream of Consciousness: Could be okay if the game goes long, otherwise...
Teardrop kami: It might take out a blocker, but unspectacular, I don't like it.
Threads of Disloyalty: Mediocre, I think.
Toils of Night and Day: Seems okay. Allows for some combat tricks.
Veil of Secrecy: Not bad, ninjas love this, along with fatties, I'm not crazy about the splice cost, nut I'd use this card.
Walker of Secret Ways: Seems weak to me. It bounces a ninja back to your hand, but the tempo loss seems kinda bad. Allows for some nifty mind games.
BLACK:
Bile Urchin: Not so good,well it might be useful with multiple soulshift triggers.
Blessings of Leeches: A bit risky, but I like it.
Call for Blood: My first instinct was that it sucked, but it might be good. When damage goes on stack, sac a creature thats lined up for lethal damage to take out another.
Crawling filth: Splashable crap.
Eradicate: Good stuff. I liked it back in Destiny and I still like it now.
Genju of Fens: A late game nightmare. This could be very dangerous.
Hired Muscle: The second best betrayer, in my opinion. Very good with spirits.
Horobi's Whisper: Very good. Good splice cost too. And a common? Black is going to be very strong on Saturday.
Mark of the Oni: At the worst its still pretty good removal, even better w/ a demon.
Nezumi Shadow-Watcher: Good ninja hoser. That being said, its good in sideboard but not as good main deck.
Ogre Marauder: Nice card. Very useable.
Okiba-Gang Shinobi: Okay, might be good but I'm not certain.
Psychic Spear: Another good sibeboard card. This might be good enough for maindeck, seeing as though almost everyone uses some spirit/arcane in limited
Pus Kami: Not so good. Black already has enough good kill. I guess if you haven't gotten much kill it could be useful.
Scourge of Numai: Okay if you don't have an ogre, good if you do.
Skullmane Baku: I'd run Pus Kami over this one.
Skullsnatcher: Good cheap critter, has worst ninja trigger besides Walker of Secret Ways.
Stir the Grave: Pretty good, I'd use this.
Takenuma Bleeder: Good little critter. The drawback is pretty negligible.
Three Tragedies: Bad. Don't use this.
Throat Slitter: Great critter, this has the best non-rare ninja trigger.
RED:
Akki Blizzard-Herder:Bad, weak critter, killing land in limited isn't very strong as far as I know.
Akki Raider: Decent critter, nice synergy with the Avalanchers from ChK.
Ashen Monstosity: Not very good. Expensive and for a fatty, fragile.
Aura Barbs: Useless.
Blademane Baku: If you can sneak him through later in the game, he can be deadly.
Crack the Earth: Not so good. It'll get a land.
Cunning bandit: Good Card, it has potential to be a killer. If only he gave haste...
First Volley: Might be good, takes care of one-toughness pests and can finish off a creature near-death.
Flames of BLood Hand: might be okay if you can get the opponent low enough.
Frost Ogre: Okay as filler, if you need more critters for your deck
Frostling: Decent, makes combat very tricky for an opponent.
Genju of Spires: Might slowly overwhelm opponent, I don't like it that much, but I'd use it.
Goblin Cohort: Pretty bad.
Ire of Kaminari: I wouldn't use this unless I had a big bunch of Arcane spells, and even then only maybe.
Kumano's Blessing: Not so good.
Ogre Recluse: Too unreliable, I don't like it.
Overblaze: Not so good. Could be used to finish someone off.
Ronin Cliffrider: I don't like it. It seems kind of bad, it'll at least trade with most creatures.
Shinka Gatekeeper: Risky, but useable.
Sowing Salt: Useless
Torrent of Stone: Decent creature kill, splice is a bit pricy.
GREEN:
Body of Jukai: Seems to expensive, but could finish someone off, it's a good thing it has trample.
Budoka Pupil: The best of the Betrayers, use it if you get it.
Child of Thorns: I like it, a mini Burr Grafter.
Forked-Branch Garami: Great critter, use this guy if you crack him. I like the double soulshift.
Genju of Cedar: This guy'll be had to deal with. Very good.
Gnarled Mass: Decent critter with much potential to be shifted back to hand after he dies.
Harbinger of Spring: Seems pretty bad to me, too fragile.
Lifespinner: Pretty bad unless you open a really good non-Myojin spirit legend.
Loam Dweller: A grizzly that can do some accelerating, he could make main deck.
Mark of Sakiko: Not so good. Marginal at best.
Matsu-Tribe Sniper: He should make your deck, he give green a way to stop flyers.
Petalmane Baku: Might be a decnt mana-fixer.
Roar of Jukai: Might be a nifty combat trick.
Sakura-Tribe Springcaller: Good blocker, could be pretty useful.
Scaled Hulk: Pretty good for a common, good spirit/arcane trigger.
Sosuke's Summons: Might be good with enough snakes.
Splinter: Not so good.
Traproot Kami: Not so good, at least he can stop fliers.
Unchecked Growth: Excellent. Very, very good.
Uproot: Bad.
Vital Surge: Lifegain in limited isn't so good.
LAND:
God's Eye, Gate to Reikai: Not so good.
ARTIFACTS:
Blinding Powder: Tricky, but still marginal.
Ronin Warclub: Not bad, you should be able to play enough creatures to avoid having to pay the equip cost.
Shuko: Marginal, at least its an extra point where you want it.
Shruiken: It looks useful, but it might be too risky.
Faithful Squire: Like all of the new Flip Legends, this guy is borderline unfair in Limited. Less so than the Red or Green ones, but a 3/4 flier with a relevant is ability is something you always want to play.
Genju of the Fields: Solid, especially as blocking becomes more important against ninja decks. Pretty much all of the Genjus (except Realm) are auto-includes, just because of the staying power they offer.
Heart of Light: Moderately acceptable if you're desperate for removal, but Sandskin wasn't very good and it still isn't.
Hundred-Talon Stike: This is a nasty trick and cheap to splice onto, much like Blessed Breath was before it. This card is less versatile than Breath, but it would take a whole lot of great cards for me to not play this.
Kami of False Hope: Fogs aren't great in limited, but a Fog that comes down early and beats for awhile might not be bad. Definately worthwhile in more controlling decks, but probably not necessary in aggro-white.
Kami of Tattered Shoji: Comparable to Hundred-Talon Kami... much bigger butt, but no soulshift and only occasionally flies. Seems like a glorified wall, but 2/5 is a whole lot of body in this format. I like it better than Kami of Old Stone, for what that's worth.
Kitsune Palliator: Weird card. Might actually be good in a race - all your creatures deal full damage, all his deal one less. Useless in combat however, so probably best suited for U/W fliers. I'd like it more if it was 1W.
Mending Hands: If it was arcane, it'd be okay. If it was "Divided as you choose among creatures you control" it'd be okay. As it is, its a bad Blessed Breath. Thumbs down.
Moonlit Strider: A good replacement for Harsh Deceiver, a much better one actually. Blocks the three power guys, saves an important creature, soulshifts a guy back. Sorta like a reverse Scuttling Death (okay, not really).
Scour: Useless in limited.
Silverstorm Kitsune: It's a bad Tangle Spider. You could play it, but I'd avoid it if I could. Would be good for 1 mana less.
Split-Tail Miko: Loxodon Anchorite and Pearl Shard dominted combat when they saw play. This guy will be the same, except cheaper and more vulnerable. Definately play this one.
Takeno's Cavalry: Overcosted. A situational Frostwielder. Blech.
Tallowisp: Acceptable becuase its a cheap, solid defender and a spirit. If you've got at least two or three good enchant creatures, I'd play this just for the card advantage.
Terashi's Grasp: Yup, sideboard fare. Makes Hondens cry.
Terashi's Verdict: White has definately had worse removal spells. Cheap, arcane and versatile. Scoop this up quick and play it.
Ward of Piety: Turn a guy into a Zealous Inquisitor. Would be nice if you could play it as an instant. As it is, its a little slow but makes for one hell of a tough blocker.
Waxmane Baku: Very solid, like a time-delay Teller of Tales. Not as good as because it doesn't fly or untap guys, but more versatile as you can save up counters for when you need them.
R.I.P. Dimebag Darrell 8/20/66 to 12/8/04
The best laid plans of nezumi and humans often go astray.
The Internet: where men are men, women are men, and 13 years old schoolgirls are FBI agents.
"my sister-in-law's brother's college professor was richard garfield"
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