MTG Salvation

1) How much have you played with the format, roughly?
I've done 1 or 2 drafts every week since release.

2) Which common was better than you expected?
Bone Saw; I didn't think it'd be worth a card for the small effect, but it's great as a surge enabler. It also does work in the ally decks to make your small fliers and first strikers into threats that need answers that much faster.

3) Which common was worse than you expected?
Tar Snare. It's typically an overly expensive combat trick, and Unnatural Endurance would do the same thing more efficiently. When it can straight up remove something, it's typically a 2 or 3 drop, so it's not super efficient there either.

4) What's the most underappreciated card?
Sparkmage's Gambit. It's a great sideboard card that helps get through extra damage in a board stall, or clears out small creatures in a race situation.

5) What's the worst common that people still play?
Either Searing Light or Eldrazi Aggressor. The former is a decent sideboard card, but I do still see people main deck it. Usually when I see people playing the latter, it's for synergy reasons. They have a bunch cards like Sky Scourer and Nettle Drone and would rather play another colorless creature than a better, colored creature.

6) What was your favorite archetype?
The ones I've enjoyed the most are white-based allies (WB or RW) and UR tempo.

7) Which archetype wasn't as good as you'd expected?
Blue-based control decks got a huge downgrade vs. BFZ draft. The format sped up a bit too much for them to really hold their own unless they get perfect opens.

8) Which colors were the best and worst?
Blue is definitely the weakest color overall, and white the strongest, but I think there's not a huge differential like there was with Green in BFZ. Even as the weakest color, blue is solid.

9) Thoughts on the format as a whole?
Definite upgrade from BFZ. Cohort plays a lot better than it initially read and is probably one of the best mechanics in the set for limited. I do wish there were more build-arounds that let you tackle deck-building from different angles along the lines of Spider Spawning or Secret Plans. I also wish the BG archetype were a bit stronger, because it has an interesting play style, but does it's thing a little too inconsistently. Overall, I liked the format. I'd rate it about the same as triple Theros.

Quote from SyloRiyami »

Could you imagine having different card backs? We wouldn't be able to play without opaque sleeves. "That's my lightning bolt, cause it's the only card from that set in my deck."

The idea was that you wouldn't be able to mix sets. Basically, block constructed would be the only format.

Turboblaze 3R
Sorcery
Exile the top six cards of your library. Put up to two creature cards with converted mana cost 3 or less from among them onto the battlefield. Those creatures gain haste. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step.

Next:
Light of the Pale
Jonas Venture
Stromkirk Sleuth

The numbers of Unhappy Servitude seem fine. The bigger issue is that it's out of pie. Tapping creatures isn't typically a black thing (even if they played around with it a bit in Planar Chaos and M11). I think something along the lines of Brink of Disaster could work. "Whenever enchanted creature becomes tapped, destroy it unless it's controller pays 2 life." The original version is fine as a WB or UB card.

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Subvert XUR
Instant (R)
Choose one —
• Counter target spell unless its controller pays X.
• Gain control of target spell with converted mana cost X or less. You may choose new targets for it.

Intrepid Chonomancer doesn't have a power and toughness, so it's a little hard to judge. That said, Eonwalker feels a bit weak, and feels clunky as templated. Returning at the beginning of combat tapped and attacking feels odd, because it's before attackers are declared, but it's already attacking. The activated ability on Chronomancer also feels only tangentially related. I think having the transformation/suspend tied to the ability somehow would feel more natural than have an Ophidian trigger.

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Boros Vanguard 2RW
Creature - Viashino Soldier (U)
Conscript 1R (You may cast this card for its conscript cost. If you do, it enters the battlefield transformed.)
Double Strike
3/2
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Tin Street Sellsword
(R)Creature - Viashino Mercenary (U)
First Strike
At the end of combat, if Tin Street Sellsword dealt combat damage to a player this turn, you may pay W. If you do, transform it.
2/1

I feel like Uninspire could stand to be 2U or even UU. It's even narrower than Negate and the second effect isn't really worth much. Many times it could even be a boon in a deck with lots of flashback or Spellheart Chimera or the like.

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Stromkirk Runner 2R
Creature - Vampire Scout
Madness 1RR
When Stromkirk Runner or another Vampire enters the battlefield under your control, if it was cast from exile, it deals 2 damage to target player.
3/2

Quote from TearingEons »

Nahiri being a Kor, which with only two exception are mono-W, could have seen her stay a mono colored 'walker with retribution styled abilities. On the other hand, I will acknowledge that lithomancy toes the line of geomancy and we have seen her do some crazy things with the ground, so adding R is totally understandable. But my thoughts were 'Is adding R warranted just because she is sufficiently angry at this point in her life?' 'If she calms down (and survives), will she continue to have red or go back to one color?'

Assuming she sticks around, I think she'll stick to being RW. Red isn't just the color of anger, but the color of passion and emotion in general. The last story that she showed up in was all about how she started RW, then became mono-W over the years, then went back to being RW.

And for those first few centuries, she had lived—really lived—among her own people, the kor. She had cooed at babies and wept at funerals, laughed around tables piled with good food, and fell in love…twice. She had taught lithomancy to a long, long stream of students, showing them how to use stone and the metal within it to form objects and weapons.

But her students learned and moved on. Her lovers aged and died. Birth followed birth, over and over, and one funeral followed another, and eventually she couldn't remember why it mattered…any of it.

All the pleasure and heartache of life rushed over her in a moment. Memories flooded her mind—the sights and sounds and smells of the bustling marketplace, the laughter in her heart, the taste of her lover's kiss, the bitter sting of tears. This had been a place of life once, a place where she had lived, and she had missed its fall.

Fury—another feeling she had forgotten. It felt good.

She would go and find him, wake him up if she needed to, remind him of her and Zendikar and the friendship they had once shared, remind him what it was to live, to feel, to care. She had saved Zendikar, and now she would save him. And then she would return and walk among her people again, she would teach and laugh and love again, and it would matter again. It would all matter.

Quote from labarith »

Exile's no longer outside the game. I could restrict it to "Sideboard", but the openendedness of it is kind of fun, no?

I think you misunderstood. Since it lets you 'wish' for anything but cards in your graveyard, if you have Dryad Militant out, you can just have a stack of, say, lightning bolts or any other instant and keep wishing for the same card every turn. If it kept you from wishing for cards in your graveyard and in exile than it leads to more interesting decisions turn after turn.

Nephalia Ghoulcaller 2UB
Creature - Human Rogue
When Nephalia Ghoulcaller enters the battlefield, return target Zombie creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
Whenever you cast a Zombie creature spell, put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield tapped.
1/3

Next:
Orzhov Exorcist
Call of Erebos
Drana's Envoy

Gregarious Mage is an interesting design. I think it probably needs some play testing and number-tweaking to get it just right though. As it is right now, I think it might be a bit strong in casual play where outside of the game means anything in your collection. You might also want it to check exile to keep it from comboing with cards like Rest In Peace and flashback spells.

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Blind Butcher 2BR
Creature - Human Rogue
Haste, First Strike
Blind Butcher can’t attack or block alone.
When Blind Butcher enters the battlefield, put two 1/1 red Devil creature tokens with Haste onto the battlefield.
4/3

I'm not sure what deck wants Avatar of Stillness. At CMC 8 a control deck is going to want a finisher, but this is the opposite. Aggressive decks aren't going to want this at all, but it's also too costly to slow them down. Midrange decks might like this if not for the life-setting ability. The flavor is spot-on, but I think the gameplay this card encourages isn't terribly interesting.

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Rakdos Blood Pit
Land
T: Add C to your mana pool.
1BR, T: Deals 2 damage to target blocking creature and 1 damage to you.

Klet, Arbiter of Balance WUBRG
Legendary Creature - Avatar
Klet, Arbiter of Balance gets +1/+1 for each card type amongst permanents you control.
WUBRG, Sacrifice any number of nonland permanents: Destroy each other permanent that shares a type with a permanent sacrificed this way.
4/4

Next: A commander that encourages you to produce mana outside of its color identity.

Sheer Will WB
Instant
Target creature gains deathtouch and indestructible until end of turn.

Next:
Right on Schedule
Momentary Detachment
Goblin Mastermind

Dekel the Protector 1WBG
Legendary Creature - Dryad Cleric
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, each opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.
Whenever you cast a spell during another player’s turn, creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain hexproof until end of turn.
2/6

Next: A commander that punishes other players for interfering with your turn.

Elvish Hexmage is an interesting design, but I'm not a big fan of cheap creatures having hexproof, even if this one gives you a window to respond. I think this needs to be "another target creature you control" or not have flash. As it is, with something like Cathars' Crusade or Nissa, Voice of Zendikar this becomes very annoying.

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Artisan of Blades 1R
Creature - Human Soldier (U)
As long as Artisan of Blades is equipped, it has first strike.
R: Target equipped creature you control gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
2/1