Wow, that seems pretty good. It essentially turns each of your combat phases into a free alpha attack, right? Give your creatures deathtouch and it's bac breaking. Obviously the unicorn needs to be protected itself and you'd want something like Grand Abolisher to protect your creatures but there's a good card here.
Seems pretty good if not really good. I'm just curious about the choice of creature type. I can understand choosing an unsupported type for the effect but it still feels too obscure.
As everyone else has said, looks like it'll be really fun for limited. Constructed wise, the set seems underwhelming but I think standard will still be diverse enough that we won't see a single archetype dominate the format (like mono-black/mono-blue devotion in RTR-THS and Siege Rhino/Abzan in THS-Tarkir).
Really disappointed that there's no ally card that boosts other allies. They can grant all sorts of keywords but that doesn't seem very strong when all the creatures are 2 or 3 power. Super glad there's a decent if not good counterspell in blue at common though.
I really don't like the new manadork. You have to play turn one, attack and hit on turn two, then untap with it on turn three before you get a bonus. Rattleclaw Mystic is just as effective and requires fewer hoops to jump through. Honored Hierarch's ability to also make white or black mana doesn't make much a difference to me.
Love Flameshadow Conjuring, Starfield of Nyx, and Day's Undoing though!
It's hard to confidently say which decks will be good and which won't. Origins could introduce format-definers that aren't "discovered" until BFZ. Still, looking at Tarkir block, I would suggest Orzhov Warriors; the cards are inexpensive, the strategy isn't too different than RDW, and it can win.
When Battle for Zendikar is released, the enemy pain lands go away. If Origins has only the allied pain lands, it would create an imbalance that doesn't align with Wizards' vision.
But if Origins contains 5 enemy dual lands, they could balance with the allied fetchlands in KTK..
So let's say Origins has just enemy dual lands. They will balance with the allied fetch lands in Khans and FRF - that is true. But when Khans and FRF rotate out, leaving Dragons and Origins, we now have five enemy lands without ally lands to balance them. This goes against Wizards' desire to have all two-color decks have equal mana footing. Enemy color decks would have an extra dual land to work with. The same is true for ally-color decks if Origins has just allied lands. Therefore, I don't think Origins will have just five lands one way or the other. Instead, I'd expect to see 10 dual lands, one for each pair.
It is possible that the lands printed in Origins are two broken cycles: a cycle of five allied lands and a cycle of five different enemy lands (possibly enemy fetches). That depends on when Wizards' wants to implement their plans of keeping all two-color decks on equal mana footing and to print 10 land cycles per block.
Personally, I prefer symmetry and lean to favoring a standard where the ally and enemy lands are part of the same cycle. So I lean towards the idea that the ally and enemy lands in Origins will be part of the same cycle rather than two five-land cycles. But that's just a personal preference.
I honestly don't think that the current, uneven cycles can really indicate the future land cycles. Wizards wants to get to a place where blocks contain full cycles (one land for each pair) and to a three block, two set standard. One of the striking things about Dragons of Tarkir is the complete lack of dual lands. But this design choice makes sense with Wizards' plan for the future. When Origins is released, I'd expect a full land cycle (new or reprint is up in the air). This won't disturb the current land balance since every color combination will receive some lands to work with. When Battle for Zendikar is released, the enemy pain lands go away. If Origins has only the allied pain lands, it would create an imbalance that doesn't align with Wizards' vision. Additionally, Theros block goes away which creates a 10-land hole that can (and likely will) be filled over the course of the Battle of Zendikar and "Sweat". Then comes "Tears". When "Tears" is released, only Fate Reforged and Khans of Tarkir will rotate. If Origins or Zendikar v2.0 Block contains the enemy fetch lands, there is again an imbalance that doesn't align with Wizards' vision. The reason Dragons of Tarkir doesn't have any dual lands is because a 5-land cycle would create an imbalance and a 10-land cycle is too much for a single set that doesn't have a land theme. If the enemy fetch lands are going to be reprinted, and it's inevitable really, I'd expect it in MM2 or another supplemental set.
Really leaning towards UB Control though I'd love to sleeve up Gx (all of the other colors seem like strong splashes), Mono Red / Mono Green Devotion, Temur, BW warriors, Abzan, Sultai, or Mardu. I refuse to play Jeskai on principle.
I agree that white really felt the love when it comes to mythics in this set. Still, I honestly don't think we can judge the set even though it's nearly completely spoiled. It's a pivot set for both Khans and Dragons of Tarkir and so it drafts and plays with both sets. Since we don't know what DTK looks like there's going to be a lot of unseen synergies I think. Regardless, a small set is a small set - there's not much expectation for FRF to make any huge splashes.
Just to make sure - the Phoenix's ability can be used at instant speed, right?
If so, I can imagine playing the Phoenix turn 3, Butcher of the Horde turn 4 sac Phoenix for haste, turn 5 at the beginning of combat revive the Phoenix, sac it, and then bring it back again with Butcher's ability on the stack!
Really disappointed that there's no ally card that boosts other allies. They can grant all sorts of keywords but that doesn't seem very strong when all the creatures are 2 or 3 power. Super glad there's a decent if not good counterspell in blue at common though.
Love Flameshadow Conjuring, Starfield of Nyx, and Day's Undoing though!
So let's say Origins has just enemy dual lands. They will balance with the allied fetch lands in Khans and FRF - that is true. But when Khans and FRF rotate out, leaving Dragons and Origins, we now have five enemy lands without ally lands to balance them. This goes against Wizards' desire to have all two-color decks have equal mana footing. Enemy color decks would have an extra dual land to work with. The same is true for ally-color decks if Origins has just allied lands. Therefore, I don't think Origins will have just five lands one way or the other. Instead, I'd expect to see 10 dual lands, one for each pair.
It is possible that the lands printed in Origins are two broken cycles: a cycle of five allied lands and a cycle of five different enemy lands (possibly enemy fetches). That depends on when Wizards' wants to implement their plans of keeping all two-color decks on equal mana footing and to print 10 land cycles per block.
Personally, I prefer symmetry and lean to favoring a standard where the ally and enemy lands are part of the same cycle. So I lean towards the idea that the ally and enemy lands in Origins will be part of the same cycle rather than two five-land cycles. But that's just a personal preference.
Super excited to see where the format goes.
If so, I can imagine playing the Phoenix turn 3, Butcher of the Horde turn 4 sac Phoenix for haste, turn 5 at the beginning of combat revive the Phoenix, sac it, and then bring it back again with Butcher's ability on the stack!