If you make a scene and run off when you see spooky pictures on playing cards, why are you playing Magic?
Spooky pictures have been here since WotC had an art budget.
Now that we have less than a third of the set spoiled and several new mechanics whose potency heavily depends on the environment around them, we are definitely ready to make assessments regarding the set's impact on Standard.
This card is fantastic other than the p/t. The art is amazing, the casting cost is one I wanted, the effect is useful but 1/3 I want raise zombies to kill and die not defend.
This vanilla creature is dynamite except its stats!
Her +1 interacts well with Sylvan Advocates and Always Watching (not that opponents are going to attack into your Tamiyoed Vigilance dudes, but that itself is kind of a win).
At first she looked clunky, but I imagine I'll be seeing a good deal of her unless WotC gives us a sweeper that isn't embarrassing.
what do you guys think about this card compared to Returned Reveler?
Better because this format rewards having things in your graveyard, and because the self-mill is automatic instead of waiting for things to happen to kill him
But he's still just bad limited filler. Not the kind of card anyone tries to put in their decks.
Empath's green, it's actively good any on-color deck and it gives special support to one of the major forced synergies in the format.
I wouldn't fault Victor, but I think it has the same things going in it's favor (good color, fits in multiple decks) except it's less good in games that go long, and I don't feel confident in the deck that wants him most (RB sacrifice).
Read is the best card in a vaccuum, but I'd try not to be black or blue unless either they're filling very specific roles or I'm getting something like Gilt-Leaf Winnower.
In a Standard defined by tokens and Thraben Inspectors, Skulk seems bad.
Slam first pick in limited though. Skulk's worked well enough in limited that I think I can compare this guy to Looter il-Kor, which is strong enough for cube, and on top of spewing 3/2s, this guy lives in a format with Madness and Delirium.
Free cards are almost always great, but really exaggerate the "knowledge gap" that goes with cubing.
Invigorate is really at its best in EMA, since removal there has a couple good cards but as a whole still isn't amazing, but it's still a good card in cube. It can just leave a bad taste in some people's mouths to get blown out by a spell like this by a tapped-out opponent.
Spooky pictures have been here since WotC had an art budget.
If you're into that effect, Water Servant might be decent. He's did good work in M14.
This vanilla creature is dynamite except its stats!
Well, except the word "Dronepack." (Try reading that word without a sympathetic cringe cringing for whoever was tasked with writing it.)
Great art callback.
Ancient Grudge-caliber flavor text.
At first she looked clunky, but I imagine I'll be seeing a good deal of her unless WotC gives us a sweeper that isn't embarrassing.
Better because this format rewards having things in your graveyard, and because the self-mill is automatic instead of waiting for things to happen to kill him
But he's still just bad limited filler. Not the kind of card anyone tries to put in their decks.
Empath's green, it's actively good any on-color deck and it gives special support to one of the major forced synergies in the format.
I wouldn't fault Victor, but I think it has the same things going in it's favor (good color, fits in multiple decks) except it's less good in games that go long, and I don't feel confident in the deck that wants him most (RB sacrifice).
Read is the best card in a vaccuum, but I'd try not to be black or blue unless either they're filling very specific roles or I'm getting something like Gilt-Leaf Winnower.
But 7 mana to get a 4/6 and ramp by 1? That's probably never happening.
Still good to see some ramp below rare this block (that doesn't rely on tapping two dudes, anyway).
Tangent, but what was the last set that provided a single line of interesting or eloquent flavor text? New Phyrexia, maybe?
Slam first pick in limited though. Skulk's worked well enough in limited that I think I can compare this guy to Looter il-Kor, which is strong enough for cube, and on top of spewing 3/2s, this guy lives in a format with Madness and Delirium.
Invigorate is really at its best in EMA, since removal there has a couple good cards but as a whole still isn't amazing, but it's still a good card in cube. It can just leave a bad taste in some people's mouths to get blown out by a spell like this by a tapped-out opponent.