MTG Salvation

Phew. Finally got to run my update for this set, and it was *big*. Not listing all the details here but it was mostly focused on the same cards as most people here. I also added Skyline Despot, though, since I do not mind Monarch, I wanted some hyper curve ender in Red, and it is absurd if you trigger it even once. I also added Isareth the Awakener primarily as a value card.

I have seen or heard basically all of those, yeah. Only Darcy was new to me since I have not participated in the scene in a bit and it is the newest one.

A more niche one would be 'Lähikauppias' which is only used in Finland to refer to Tarmogoyf. It means 'local grocer' and the reason is that Tarmo is a Finnish male name associated strongly with a mascot for a grocery store chain. The name of the card is actually derived from the same Finnish word which means 'vigour' but which the designers thought to be closer to 'energy' in a less human way.

Kemba does have good base stats and its triggers can very quickly grow unbeatable. Just imagine Lightning Greaves on it in our format.

I am a little less sold on Extinguish All Hope even if I am glad that we have access to true board sweepers now. Its main issue would be how it can still be unpredictable when there are enchantment creatures in your CU/be and you would need to also destroy them. Especially when you will be left completely open if only your opponent has even one.

I have to say: I really do not like this set for reasons unrelated to whether I will or will not include cards from it. The ring mechanic is among the worse offenders for keywords which require reminder cards, and I am not hyped at all for the food matters, legendary matters, and goblin/orc tribal stuff, either. However, the worst part is how cringe-inducing a lot of the cards' naming and references are.

But let's finally try and see past that to what this set has to offer for me... I will 100% exclude all cards that reference the ring tempting you, even if they would be decent otherwise.

Likely Inclusion:
Reprieve: Technically better Remand in white feels good and I think that it is still color-appropriate since white has casting delays and taxes.
Meneldor, Swift Savior: Repeated blinking on a decent body.
Old Man Willow: I like repeated removal options.
Rise of the Witch-king: But also, this is just great.
Shadowfax, Lord of Horses: The effect is great and Boros need not be so limited.

Might test:
Éowyn, Lady of Rohan: I like the fact that her keywords are not tied specifically to her, and her big butt makes her feel better than a 2/2 like Danitha Capashen.
Westfold Rider: Handy and no associated extra cost to activating the effect.
Stern Scolding: Handy 1 mana counter.
March from the Black Gate: As a self-growing 2-drop that can synergize with other cards, it is interesting.
Éomer of the Riddermark: A 5/4 with haste that is likely to generate tokens might be better than some alternatives for this slot.
Grishnákh, Brash Instigator: Would work best with a sacrifice archetype which I do not have but the two bodies and a steal are not bad by themselves.
Rally at the Hornburg: I do not currently run these token generators but this would be the best one.
Entish Restoration: Good Harrow variant.
Barrow-Blade: Maybe. But we are so spoiled with equipments on sticks these days.
Shire Terrace: I don't mind a rainbow panorama.

Interesting:
Errand Rider of Gondor: Just the filtering is pretty good with this body and it is not impossible to get the draw these days. I like the design.
Tale of Tinúviel: White The Eldest Reborn though not as focused on CA which probably makes this a bad analogy.
Saruman the White: It is not terrible as five drops go.
Dunland Crebain: Too stacked a spot but I still kind of like it.
Haunt of the Dead Marshes: Self-recursion is still recursion.
Book of Mazarbul: 3/3 or some alternatives, plus a late alpha strike trigger. Hmm...
Cast into the Fire: Yeah, interesting alternative of the Abrade template.
Quickbeam, Upstart Ent: It is a good trigger, even if you only get it off once.
The Grey Havens: More design space for uncommon gold fixing lands. Especially ones which come in play untapped.

I think that while I really like Sam and Gollum otherwise, I will refuse to include Ring cards just like I did with dungeons and initiative. If you cannot explain the mechanic without an external aid, it does not belong in my cube.

Shire Terrace definitely seems like it could be worth a slot.

Westfold Rider and Wose Pathfinder may be worth checking.

Overall, this set feels on the weaker side based on previews, with a lot of tiny bodies and lots of vanilla cards. There are token synergies, most definitely, but stuff tied to Food tokens, specifically, or Orcs/Goblins feels pretty parasitic.

Okay, then. Despite having followed along to the spoilers, I am actually mostly uncertain of what this review will look like. It has felt hard to get a sense for this set. Oh, except: not adding any cards that care about Phyrexians since that creature type would be such a pain to track because of revisions to older cards. Oh, and I count Phyrexian mana as colourless.

Staple:
Zephyr Winder: In the sense that it has one of the better effects for this kind of card - yet. Could end up replaced now that this is a new baseline instead of an exception.

Under Consideration:
Sunder the Gateway: 2/2 with token and counter synergies and can be played as a Naturalize with delayed creature.
Xerex Strobe-Knight: Worthwhile body even when you cannot activate it.
Scorn-Blade Berserker: An interesting variant of the 'sacrifice a creature to draw 2' formula which costs more for that effect but does quite a bit more.
Fearless Skald: Agreed on the discussion on this card. It has potential.
Copper Host Crusher: Me like finishers with Hexproof.
Halo Forager: Definitely a strong card even if I have other reasons to use Vohar right now (reanimator).
Halo Hopper: Definitely interesting as an option to me.
Captive Weird: Not the worst blue 1-drop.
Skyclave Aerialist: Flipping feels potentially a tad overpriced but also provides CA.
Invasion of Mercadia: A very clear plus over most 'discard one, draw 2 for 2' effects.
Khenra Spellspear: One of the better transformers in this set. Mostly because the front is good enough.
Invasion of Zendikar: Basically just plus side on top of a borderline good enough card, like with Mercadia.

Interesting:
Bola Slinger: +1 cost for either a 3-power body or a +1/+1 counter on something else and getting the effect a turn early.
Cut Short: Potentially free removal.
Phyrexian Censor: Very hard to make asymmetrical in this format but strong effect.
Realmbreaker's Grasp: Is this better than most aura removal in white for the cost? I don't keep track.
Seal from Existence: Ward is a nice addition to an Oblivion Ring.
Tiller of Flesh: Still like the delayed mana cost for this kind of value effect, especially when it is not just Heroic.
Expedition Lookout: Not useless in the late game while a decent board clogger for slower strategies early on.
Oracle of Tragedy: Could be an interesting alternative to looters.
Collective Nightmare: Another potentially free kill spell - but less likely to be worth it because it only targets small fries.
Gloomfang Mauler: Self-discarding 7/7 Menace with conditional upside.
Beamtown Beatstick: Not a terrible basic equipment. We are just spoiled with equipments on sticks.
Hangar Scrounger: I like pillaging in red.
Shivan Branch-Burner: Feels overpriced, even with Convoke, but just convoking for two already makes the price decent (if you would have no use for those creatures otherwise).
Kami of Whispered Hopes: Easy to get great value out of but still dependent on other cards.
Streetwise Negotiator: I like the body but the drawbacks would also be real as a trap during play in my CU/be, with all the asymmetrical equipment and such.
Invasion of Belenon: Demands too much damage but not terrible front.
Invasion of Vryn: Neither side is bad. The back does something pretty unique.
Aetherblade Agent: If the front had +1 power, this would be an easy addition.
Nezumi Freewheeler: Not terrible but just feels like a little too little.
Gnottvold Hermit: This could easily end a game in the right circumstances.

I suppose that a minor downside to Streetwise Negotiator is that it is bad with fight effects. But those are not that popular in CU/be, I think. It also carries most pants badly since they tend to mostly boost power without necessarily boosting toughness as well.

I am a little interested in Tiller of Flesh as an Orzhov, Azorius, or Boros control support card. The fact that it also works when you target your opponent's cards is really important. And you do not even need to have the mana to cash out the effect available when you cast those spells. Especially in a more draw-go style of deck, you can keep mana up and then sink it there if you do not need it for other things.

Also, Zephyr Winder joins 'blue 2/1 flier with minor upside for 2' with one of the better upsides. To the point that it is time even for me to start cutting the worse ones, I suppose.

Yeah, I already really do not like the 'the ring tempts you' mechanic for it not being explained on the cards and having such a specific naming which tells you nothing, too. If it is like Initiative or dungeons, I will very likely not include the cards with it. Monarch is fine to me because you just get an emblem that interacts with basic mechanics in a consistent way. The ones that rely on reminder cards are such a huge no-no because you cannot explain the mechanics simply if someone asks. You have to refer to the reminder cards while drafting to even remember what the cards actually do in play.

However, I am interested in Reprieve and at least Sam does seem usable if the extra effect is not *****e.

Hah. Imagine if the effect is something referenced on the One Ring card such as drawing a card and then losing a life for each time that the ring has tempted you in this game.

Let's see now. All references to poison counters basically get ousted immediately. But I did see rather promising cards overall, even if I did not particularly feel like discussing most.

Staple:
Cankerbloom: Absolute power creep. That standard art is so fugly and hard to parse at a glance.
Evolving Adaptive: Another Experiment One, even if without the regeneration.

Likely Inclusion:
Hexgold Halberd: Can actually make it even if slightly overcosted to equip again and gets little benefit from the trample by itself.
Armored Scrapgorger: More reliable to enable than the other growing mana dorks even if worse in the late game. Added GY hate which is both a plus and a minus, potentially.
Bladehold War Whip: The ability to equip this again is rather incidental to what makes it a good card for the archetype with a decent enough worst case scenario.
Atraxa's Skitterfang: Keywords go brrrr.

Interesting:
Hexgold Hoverwings: Feels a little overcosted but it is not a terrible rate.
Atmosphere Surgeon: Being able to stockpile activations makes it more interesting than immediate triggers with this effect.
Experimental Augury: It's a nice proliferation effect that is not overcosted.
Malcator's Watcher: The vigilance and flying make the death trigger worthwhile. The P/T might still be a little low in terms of the ACS.
Drown in Ichor: Also a decent proliferate card where the drawback is Sorcery speed rather than its mana cost.
Sheoldred's Edict: Probably the best actual edict that we have.
Vat of Rebirth: More interesting than good, probably. But the artifact clause is not nothing.
Barbed Batterfist: Despite the drawback, the base body for the cost is not bad and the equip cost is also not overcosted.
Cacophony Scamp: I do like this scaling ping upon death effect. It offers synergies.
Exuberant Fuseling: I want to like it but admittedly, death triggers are too slow. I originally thought that it was triggered when it or other stuff entered the battlefield, instead.
Furnace Punisher: Still a body that does work even if you never trigger it. I think?
Gleeful Demolition: Artifact removal with an alternative mode.
Rebel Salvo: Might actually make it as explicit archetype support that is not too demanding.
Shrapnel Slinger: Devent artifact destruction on a cheap and properly statted stick, even if we have better options by now.
Expand the Sphere: I like the design here despite this being a little unreliable and not really fixing reliably.
Thirsting Roots: Another one of these modal 1 mana land fixers.
Tyvar's Stand: Hexproof and Indestructible for 1 are a good baseline and the ability to scale it up definitely beats incidental life gain.
Unnatural Restoration: Another permanents only Regrowth with upside.
Dune Mover: I actually like the protection against mana screw that this brings.
Myr Convert: Probably not worth it but at least it has 2 power for 2, too. Flexible.

Colour me surprised that no one seems to have pointed to Tyvar's Stand yet. You can play it for X=0 in a pinch and it is all upside from there, to the point that you can sink all your mana into it for a finishing blow.

Edit: No, wait. Rancoredmalone did point it out.

Quote from Leelue »

Oh man I completely spaced out on how level up works and just assumed that Warlock Class worked after you pumped just 1B into it. Finding *four* mana to get a new card is much worse than what I thought I was bargaining for.

Four? I only count three.

Also, thank you calibretto for doing this.

Quote from Marogoyf »

I was very excited to see [CARD]Spiritmonger/[CARD] downshifted in DMR. Have any of you made room for it or plan to? I run a slightly altered klug list and am planning to cut [CARD]Gloomshrieker/[CARD]

I initially switched to it because the initial body is very good as a resilient, growing threat. I think that I will switch back to Lotleth Troll because of its defensive applications, though. I just considered how handy it is as a defensive threat in the early game as opponents cannot really even attack into it with X/3s because of the threat of growing it and just regenerating after blocks.

Probably adding Spiritmonger since the good and growing baseline for it is more important than Lotleth Troll's discard ability. I am mostly interested in both as resilient growing threats.

Might also add Call of the Herd, Necrosavant and Phyrexian Scuta. The last one is mainly just as a replacement to Juzám Djinn I want black to also just have access to big bodies and I might eventually just sell the Djinn.

I ended up adding Biblioplex Kraken, Primeval Herald, and Planar Atlas. I wish that the kraken could bounce itself, though, just to have the option to use it as repeated filtering in a pinch. I added the herald since just attacking once is good enough value already in my eyes. Might get cut, though.