Constellation or Raid?

While we know very little about Khans of Tarkir, we know what 3 of the 6 mechanics are: Prowess, Raid and Morph. Of these, Raid is getting my most attention. This is partially for a number of reasons:

• Prowess is a keyword and is very simple to understand
• Morph is a returning mechanic so it’s already understood to a certain extent
• We don’t know too much about Raid. As an ability word, it depends on the individual card in many circumstances, so for now it is best to just speculate.

However, my main reason for wanting to look at Raid closer is due to how it applies to creatures. Raid only triggers once when a given creature enters the battlefield – even then you have to attack first. This is different to abilities such as Landfall, which can trigger more than once, or the current Constellation ability in Standard. For example, let’s compare the following two cards: Mardu Heart-Piercer…

…and Forgeborn Oreads.At first glance, we can see a few similarities. Both creatures are Red and Uncommon, coming in at 4 mana. They both have an ability word – in this case, Constellation vs Raid – which enable you to deal damage to creatures or players. However, this is where the similarities end.

Maximizing Damage

Whether it’s a standard environment or a limited draft, you want to make the most potential out of any possible card. Let’s look at Mardu Heart-Piercer first: This card can do a maximum of 2 damage. There is no sliding scale here, you’re either dealing 2 damage or you are not and this option only happens once.

Forgeborn Oreads, has a little more reach. When it enters the battlefield, it can deal 1 damage, which is the minimum you can ever deal with this card. The thing is, however, that anything after this is almost upside. Play a second enchantment and you can deal 1 more damage, making for a total equaling that of Mardu-Heart Piercer. Yet anything more than this is a pure bonus, and the right deck can easily make the most of Forgeborn Oread.

Of course, Mardu Heart-Piercer has a slight advantage in that it can deal 2 damage off the bat. This makes it more useful for taking out 2 toughness creatures, where as Forgeborn Oread acts more like a pinger: if you want to deal multiple amounts of damage you need to save up your enchantments to play them in succession on the same turn. Depending on the match up, there may be bigger reasons for Mardu Heart-Piercer, but there is more potential in the long run with Forgeborn Oread.

So, what does this mean about the two abilities? Straight away, we can see that Raid looks to give you  a little more power for a very extensive limiting factor. Constellation triggers once, guaranteed, and then requires you to play a decks worth of enchantments. Raid, on the other hand, only triggers once – and even then, it requires you to meet an additional criteria – but it gives a slightly bigger benefit.

Stats

Triggering abilities aside, what are the stats like? Both aren’t the best on a vanilla scale, which is to be expected, but there is a little difference. MHP is a 2/3, while FBO is a 4/2. The former gets 5 points worth of stats while the latter gets 6. If you’re going for aggression, which is a well known Red strategy, FBO has an advantage. Yet there are also a few drawbacks; of the two creatures, MHP well survive longer with 3 toughness, while FBO has only 2 toughness and will likely trade down.

Again, we might need to look back at the abilities of each. The MHP creature only triggers once so, after dealing the damage, you don’t need to save it anymore: it’s just a 2/3. You can use it to block or attack without having to worry about more triggers. Constellation, on the other hand, is a different matter. Do you swing in and risk losing a ping engine or do you play more conservatively? People are playing Eidolon of Blossoms for it’s card draw, but the creature itself is only a 2/2 for 4 mana.

Enchantment vs Creature Enchantment

Additionally, Constellation does have one big drawback – it only appears on an enchantment creatures. While there is nothing stopping the ability appearing on other permanents in the future, for now this is the only option. The problem, of course, is that enchantment creatures are much easier to kill. Green can rarely destroy creatures outright, for instance, but it can destroy enchantments. A similar argument can be made for White, while Blue’s ability to answer these cards stays around the same. Black can always kill creatures anyway and Red will find it easier – as we’ve discussed, Constellation creatures are often under-powered when it comes to stats. A 4-mana creature with 2 toughness is not hard to deal with in Red on turn 4.

Raid, on the other hand, doesn’t appear on enchantment-creatures. MHP is a 2/3, not a 2/2 along the lines of FBO and Eidolon of BLossoms. Furthermore, Raid can also appear on cards outside of creatures. This gives the mechanic much more reach and, as I’ve already predicted, Raid has the potential to appear on instants and sorcery spells (similar to Landfall and/or Metalcraft). The end result is that Raid permanents stand to be harder to remove.

Of course, this is just speculation, since there’s only one Raid card to go off so far. I do expert more from this, both in other forms and different rarities, and Raid will have it’s own place in Khans of Tarkir limited. When it comes to Standard, however, I’m just trying to figure out what kind of decks want it. We’ll know more when Khans of Tarkir previews start up.

Journey Into Nyx Review: Best of the Rest

So, after done all five colours in Journey Into Nyx, there are only a handfull of cards to look at – artifacts, multicoloured/gold cards and lands. Since there’s so few, it makes sense just to cover all of them. For the most part, they nearly all have some strong merits for play in various formats, with the exception of the artifacts, which I feel are very limited-only as far as playability goes.

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 GOLD

Journey Into Nyx has a cycle of Gold cards, in colour combinations matching the five gods in the same set. I’ve already covered said Gods, as well as the gold Planeswalker Ajani, so I’ll just cover the five that are left.

First up is Desperate Stand. At a Red and a White to cast, as well as a Red and a White mana gain for each Strive target, this card has some very specific mana requirements. It’s also a sorcery, so you can’t use it as a combat trick, either.

Still, being able to give anywhere between one creature and your entire board +2/+0, first strike and vigilance is no small bonus. Clearly this card is meant to push Red White heroic. Not only will this trigger all your guys, it will ensure they either get through, trade really well or survive long enough for blocking. That being said, I still feel the mana requirements are going to give this card very restricted play. Red White heroic decks have a low curve with less lands as a result, where as this card asks that you have a very stable mana base.

In summary: This will get used to target a few creatures in limited and may see fringe play in Standard, but I’m not hopeful.

If you want something more playable, Disciple of Deceit may provide a more satisfying answer. At 2 CMC – one black mana and one blue – for a 1/3 it’s not bad on the vanilla scale. As Inspired abilities go, being able to transmute something in your hand is always favourable.

Getting the most out of this card does, however, require some careful deckbuilding. It encourages you to favour cards of the same mana cost. For instance, if you want to ensure you can always find that Hero’s Downfall, you need to ensure you have plenty of 3-drops to act as potential tutors. It’s definitely useful, but whether this is possible or not will dictate just how aggressive this card is. Yet, as far as limited formats go, getting any sort of answer when you need it will make this card a high pick if you’re in the colours. Is it first-pickable? I’m really not sure.

Hey, do you know what Blue-Green needs? A flash creature! Sarcasm aside, I think Fleetfeather Cockatrice has plenty of potential. A 3/3 flyer at five mana is still payable, and the deathtouch ability goes it plenty of options. It’s a decent blocker and it can swing in knowing it’s likely going to trade well.

Being able to cast it with Flash is really more of a bonus but if there is one combination of abilities I like, its flying and deathtouch. Unless you have first strike/double strike, Fleetfeather Cockatrice really has nothing to fear. As for its Monstrous ability, I again think that’s an added bonus. 3 +1/+1 counters are great but the price of 7 mana is a hefty toll. Still, that would give you a 6/6 in the air so, if its get to the late game, you can up the stakes on your side. Will this see play outside limited? I hope so, because blue/green flash is strong and if there is space in that sort of deck, this is the kind of card people may want.

Next up is Black and Green with a very strong 3-drop. Nyx Weaver is a 2/3 with Reach, which gets through the vanilla test. That said, I’m sure most people would prefer a spider with deathtouch and reach, but this isn’t want Nyx Weaver is for.

Black and Green have seen plenty of cards focused on the graveyard lately, from cards that put fodder into the bin to cards that gain boosts based on the ‘yard. There’s also Pharika, which can convert cards form your graveyard into tokens. If this is what you’re after, Nyx Weaver may be perfect. The top 2 cards each turn will go straight to the graveyard with Nyx Weaver, which is great. Is it fast enough? There are many cards that do it better, but Weaver offers a stable way to boost the graveyard up each and every turn.

On the matter of 2/3’s, Stormchaser Chimera is a 2/3 flyer for 4 mana. It’s not a bad card on its own, but it fills a different niche from Nyx Weaver and one I don’t think is as popular. We’ve seen a handfull of cards already that care about scrying and they haven’t been that effective so far. Sure, they’re powerful in the limited arena but it’s not enough to make them constructed playable.

Furthermore, it’s a big mana cost for the gains you’re looking at. Four mana for scrying 1 is risky – if you find a land on the top of your deck you can get rid of it, sure, but what do you do if there’s a 2-drop? +2/+0 really isn’t great for 4 mana, but you don’t know what the alternative is.

Rounding off the gold uncommons is Underworld Coinsmith. It’s a 2/2 for 2 mana, so we’re definitely in bear country, but this card has some subtle potential.

For 2 mana and 1 life you can cause your opponent to lose life. You don’t get the life back yourself but, as long as you can gain life somewhere, you can technically win without attacking. Of course, on its own this wouldn’t be enough, but Underworld Coinsmith’s Constellation trigger allows you to gain one life. This instantly suggests a build-around-me deck that plays cheap enchantments to gain life. You could also play small creatures – I’m thinking about extort creatures from Gatecrash and Dragon’s Maze – as well as Athreos for a similar effect. Whether its competitive enough I do not know, but there are certainly going to be many decks based around this card.

Finally, as far as gold cards go, there’s one more left to mention. Revel of the Fallen God is a rare 7-drop in Red and Green. I’m not sure it’s first pickable in limited or playable in Standard, but it might see play in some fringe formats.

Gaining 4 2/2 creatures is strong, especially when they have haste. Still, they’re just 2/2’s so, by turn 7, they’re not really going to do you any favours unless you can pump them up, swarm your opponent or get around them some other way. I personally want to put this into a Naya Commander deck that goes wide rather than tall. There are cards that do damage from creatures entering the field, as well as the likes of Cathar’s Crusade. If there’s a deck out there that’s running the likes of Titanic Ultimatum, they’re going to want this card. Other than that, I’m not sure if it has any obvious home.

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ARTIFACTS

Journey Into Nyx has 4 artifacts at uncommon and 2 artifacts at rare. Most of these seem strong in respective formats which, for a block that focuses on enchantments, is surprising.

Armory of Iroas, for instance, seems like it could be strong. It’s 2 to play and 2 to equip, but it gives you the attacking trigger from the cycle of Ordeals. A potential 23rd card in limited, this helps weaker guys become stronger, although they still have to attack first.

Still, what it loses in Heroic triggers it makes up for by being an equipment. You can re-attach it to where it’s needed and, in the current meta, people are more focused on enchantment removal than artifact hate. I can’t see it seeing too much play beyond this, but how many sets ever have that many stand-out artifacts?

Next up is Chariot of Victory, which I really like. While it does cost 3 mana to get down, it only costs 1 to equip. This is good, since it is something you’re going to want to equip a lot to wherever it is most needed. First strike, trample and haste are three abilities that go well together. You can either give a guy haste or just make it more combat effective. If you see this in a draft I’d see its a very high target. As for Standard or constructed, it probably won’t but, out of the uncommon artifacts, I find it to be the most competitive.

Deserter’s Quarters is a card I’m not sure how to look at. It is, of course, a reworked Vedalken Shackle’s. For a start, you’re not reliant on Islands, meaning you can both pick any target and run it in non-blue decks. Yet, on the other hand, its mana requirements are different. Shackles is 3 to cast and 2 to equip, but Quarters is 2 to cast and 6 to equip. It comes down a turn earlier but you really can’t use it until the late game. Still, it can lock down any non-hexproof threat and that could make it very powerful. Will it see play? I’m really not sure, but I do see control decks looking at this card’s potential.

Finally, as the last of the uncommons, Gold-Forged Sentinel is a simple artifact creature and a fine card in limited. Like Anvil-Wrought Raptor, Sentinel is a flying artifact creature, only it’s a 4/4 rather than a 2/2. It’s still good value for decks that need a flyer. Yet it is 6 mana and a 4/4 might not be a threat. Still, there are worse cards to play in this slow and, if you need some flexibility, Sentinel is a decent option. If you’re in colours such as blue and white, however, there are many options that are better as flyers.

Moving on to the rares and we have Hall of Triumph. The highlights of this card are obvious and the design is simple. For half the price of a Caged Sun, you get one of the two benefits. In this case, we have a 3 mana artifact that gives creatures you control of a chosen colour +1/+1. While it’s not as good as Dictate of Heliod, it is still a cheap anthem effect that can be played in any colour. This is great, although I don’t think there are any mono-devotion decks that benefit. Does Red need a small boost across the board at the 3-drop slot? Does Black need anything when it rarely plays too many creatures at once sans-rats. The same argument goes for Blue and Green, too. When they need to go big, they have better ways of going big. Perhaps White could use this effect, but it already has Spear of Heliod and Dictate of Heliod. While legendary, the former costs the same amount and has a useful ability.

Finally, rounding off the artifacts, is Godsend. Badass name aside, Godsend is a 3-drop legendary artifact which costs 3 to equip. Still, this is a card that you will want to equip and is worth the cost: First of all, it gets +3/+3 which is very competitive, but it also exiles creatures it comes into contact with. Best of all, your opponent can’t play creature spells with the same name, so it makes them want to block even less. If you get a mono-black deck’s Specter, they can’t cast their other 3 copies until they get rid of Godsend. It’s that powerful.

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LANDS

There are 3 lands in Journey Into Nyx. The first two – Temple of Epiphany and Temple of Malady – are the last of the scrylands, giving us the Red/Blue and Black/Green lands, respectively. This is easy enough to grok and will make sense in any deck that runs these colours. Dual lands are always welcome and a free scry is always useful. Of course, they come in tapped, so most players will always prefer the shocklands where possible.

The third land, however, is already selling for a high price for obvious reasons. Mana Confluence is a better City of Brass – you only lose life when creating mana, not when the opponent taps it ala City of Brass. It still produces any colour of mana, which makes it highly sought after in three colour decks, various Modern decks and anyone else that needs immediate mana fixing. If you open this in a booster pack, be very happy about it.

Journey Into Nyx Review: Red Highlights

Okay, so we’ve covered White, Blue and Black. Next up is Red. Like most of the other colours in Journey Into Nyx, there are some obvious red staples here, but there are a few fun surprises as well.

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 Burn, Burn, Burn

Surprise, surprise – red has burn spells! Since Born of the Gods had the likes of Bolt of Keranos, it’s safe to say many people weren’t expecting too much from this set. Well, it turns out we were all wrong. As a red player myself, the return of Magma Spray makes me immensely happy.

Right now, this metagame looks like it needs a Pillar of Flame at instant speed. Although it’s not a major focus, both Return to Ravnica and Theros blocks have had some graveyard play. With the former, you wanted to keep scavenge out of the graveyard and, following Theros, keeping numerous creatures out of the ‘yard helps keep Jarad, Nighthowler and Nemesis of Mortals from becoming overtly powerful threats. Sure, it’s only 2 damage but people love to run Magma Jet and that costs one more. I can think of numerous examples where I’d prefer to exile something that Scry 2. Don’t get me wrong, scrying 2 is still pretty sweet in a red deck that needs to keep a handfull of answers.

While Magma Spray is a high pick for both Constructed and Limited, I feel Starfall is a card that will likely see play in Limited alone. This card instantly reminds me of Punish The Enemy from Dragon’s Maze. For 5 mana, you can do 3 damage or, if you pull it off, do 6 divided between creature and player. Starfall requires the creature to be an enchantment but, hey, this is Theros block right? That shouldn’t be a problem. Also, the art is awesome.

These are the main 2, but there are plenty of other cards in Journey Into Nyx that can bring the heat. Knowledge and Power is the scry-version of Burning Vengeance, but it’s just too over priced. Not only do you have to scry, you have to pay 2 mana to turn on the expensive enchantment. Gimmicky, but not needs to be cheaper to be playable. Likewise, Lightning Diadem has the same problem. At 6 mana, you get +2 +2 to a creature and a one-off ability to do 2 damage. Looking at other cards that do either of these, where does this high price come from? I’d struggle to find room for this in limited, yet alone anywhere else.

What I do hope gets to see more play, however, is Riddle of Lightning. Blast of Genius was an interesting card in Dragon’s Maze and it has seen fringe play in some homebrew decks – there have certainly been some interesting results. Throw it in Red with the ability to Scry 3 and this card does a little bit of everything. So long as you don’t mind a high mana cost for your next draw, this can do some serious damage when you need it. I do worry, however, that straight up burn decks have enough low cost options right now and won’t need it.

As for the last of the Burn-spells, could we spare a thought for Spite of Mogis in Izzet-decks? If you have plenty of instants and sorceries, this could be a nasty little one drop. Sure, it only deals damage to a creature, not players, but it can be effective mana-light removal and it scrys 1.

My first thought would be to put it in a deck with the likes of Blistercoil weird and Spellheart Chimera, or even Guttersnipe, Chandra’s Phoenix and Friends, but part of me feels they just have better answers at hand already. Still, a growing part of me really hopes it sees some sort of play in Standard at least.

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 Tokens and Tricks

I love it when Red gets some token manipulation and various other combat tricks. Fortunately, there are 2 cards in Journey Into Nyx that look like they can deliver just that.

First up is Flurry of Horns. For 5 mana you get a pair of 2/3 centaurs. Given that a 2/3 centaur alone (and there are a number of them in this block) cost around 3 mana anyway, this isn’t bad value. A late-game token drop is a little odd, however, but I expect this is very much designed to encourage Minotaur tribal. If you have the right lords out, the men-cows each come out as a 3/4 with trample, haste and gain +2/0 when they attack. Also, there’s a black 3 drop that will give them deathtouch.

What I think will see more play, however, is Twinflame. There is definitely a large group of people who have a soft spot for Splintertwin-eqsue shenanigans and Twinflame has the potential to do just that. For 2 mana, you can copy a creature you control, but you do lose the token at the end of the turn. However, for each 3 more you pay you can target additional creatures. This does mean, of course, that you can’t target the same creature more than once, so this is really a way of doubling your current army. It’s a bit like token spam and White’s Launch the Fleet, which only gives you 1/1 soldiers. Target better creatures than that and you can get some value off of Twinflame.

That said, it is more expensive so I’m putting this into the ‘cards that make much more sense next to Battlefield Thaumaturge’ category. Honestly, it is good, but it costs a lot to do en-mass.

Likewise, I think Blinding Flare could prove surprisingly effective. Sure, you can’t make it cheaper as it doesn’t use colourless mana, but stopping your opponent’s entire board from blocking is either going to win you the game or force them to take some drastic measures.

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Creatures Hot and Heavy

Finally, what are Red’s creatures like? There are a couple of awesome creatures here, as well as a few hole-fillers. Satyr Hoplite, for example, doesn’t come as a surprise but it’s what the Boros and Rakdos aggro decks needed. It’s a 1/1 for a Red mana with Heroic – simple. There’s also a 2/3 minotaur for 3 mana. It’s the Red equivalent of Black’s Felhide Minotaur – easy to grok and designed to fillout the Minotaur archetype. I’m okay with it.

What I do like, is the re-print of Bladetusk Boar. Intimidate hasn’t been seen much outside Black in Theros block, so this should become an interesting pick in Limited. As for Standard, however, I didn’t see it much when M13 was around and the metagame isn’t necessarily crying out for it.

Eidolon of the Great Revel, however, is a card worthy of everyone’s attention. For two red mana, you get a 2/2 that deals 2 damage to any player that plays a spell with a CMC of 3 or less. I love this card, but I want to see what it gets played in. Mono-red burn would do too much damage to itself to make it worthwhile, but it’s ability to shut down control decks that like to play a lot of counter spells, bounce spells and cantrips, makes it an important inclusion somewhere. Red-Green monsters maybe?

It is also an enchantment creature and, speaking of which, it might work well with Forgeborn Oreads. As a 4/2 for 4, this enchantment creature obviously puts itself in direct competition with Fanatic of Mogis, but could offer an interesting alternative that doesn’t need to be mono-red.

Fanatic, for instance, is a one-shot trick, where as the Oreads are much more subtle and could work well in a deck that plays loads of enchantments and works well with other constellation cards. I’ve already compared Constellation to Zendikar’s Allies, and I feel there could be a similar deck in Standard. That said, I also think Constellation creatures are all on the high-end of the CMC scale, so you’d have to play some low cost enchantments to get the most out of this card.

In terms of fatties and bombs, we do have a big old Dragon that deals damage when it enters into the battlefield. Spawn of Thraxes is good, but it’s a one-shot pony and, well, too high above the curve right now. Fantastic in limited, but I think mono-red is happy with Stormbreath Dragon at the moment.

Likewise, I’m not sure if there is a home for Prophetic Flamespeaker. I love the fact that it’s a 1/3 doublestrike creature with trample, but it’s second ability doesn’t excite me. This is the same ability on Chandra and she didn’t see nearly as much play as any Planeswalker arguably should. The fact is, it’s a gamble and not always an effective one. It forces you to leave mana open in case you hit something you want – otherwise it’s gone forever. Still, enchant this guy up and you have an aggressive creature. I wouldn’t pass this in a draft, but I fear I’m running it for all the wrong reasons.

Finally, throw in some general combat tricks, some good old minotaurs and a cyclops or two and you have Red in a nutshell. There are many cards here I want to try out and, even though I’ve yet, I think it has enough to compete with the other colours.

Journey Into Nyx Review: Black Highlights

Following on from last week’s posts about Blue and White in Journey Into Nyx, it only seems fair to showcase everything else – after all, this set has a few staples I want to keep an eye on. So, here’s a quick overview of some the potential cards in Black…

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 One-Two-Drop

Really? Was Black lacking any aggressive drops for turn one and two? We already have Tortured Hero, Rakdos Cackler and friends in Standard right now – the Black/Red aggro deck is very much a thing and honestly didn’t even need more black. That said, I do like the cards on offer.

First up, how about Pharika’s Chosen? It’s Sedge Scorpion in Black. I’ve played with Scorpion in Green enough to know its an amazing blocker in limited, and I’ve done the same with Baleful Eidolon in Black, too. A cheaper version? Yes please. As for Standard and other constructed formats, there are always decks that will use a 1/1 deathtouch for one mana. Sure, it isn’t game breaking but this will give black decks an Eidolon a turn early. Plus, Black/Green Pharika deathtouch could be a thing. I mean, it won’t, but it could….

Secondly, there’s also Gnarled Scarhide, which I’ve already discussed in better detail. Still, a 2/1 on turn 1? While it can’t block, any deck playing that aggressively isn’t looking to block anytime soon. And yes, the ability to prevent opponents blocking via bestowing may also prove very useful.

In terms of two-drops, I’m also looking at Bloodcrazed Hoplite and Brain Maggot for decks more focused on control. The former is a typical Heroic creature, so it will find its way into decks that like Nighthowler and Herald of Torment for sure. Yet it can also steal counters, which gives it a powerful edge in certain match-ups. This may prove niche, but it could be a sideboard worthy card and it’s definitely fine in limited.

Brain Maggot, on the other hand, is hand-attack. Black loves hand attack and, in a metagame that already has Duress and Thoughtseize, this is icing on the already large cake. Sure, it’s temporary removal but if you get the right card, your opponent has to waste removal on a 1/1 just to get it back.

If I had to balance all this power out somehow, I’d comment on the lack of lifelink. None of the Black creatures or Aura’s in Journey Into Nyx grant lifelink – as for Theros Block as a whole, that seems to be a niche white area – as deathtouch seems to be black’s thing right now. It definitely feels black and when its this aggressive, gaining life as well would be too much.

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Removal

The fact that black would get removal in any set comes as no surprise to anyone but, when it comes to small sets, I usually expect the removal to be niche or underpowered. It’s the same theory that goes on Red burn spells – when you make Lightning Strike and co in Theros, it’s no surprise Born of the God‘s Bolt of Keranos couldn’t compete. But Black get’s a few tools in Journey Into Nyx…

I’m going to get straight to the point here and point out Feast of Dreams. It’s a two-mana, instant speed removal in black, so it’s instantly up there with Doomblade, Ultimate Price, Go For The Throat and friends. Yet it targets any creature that is either an enchantment, or has an aura on it. In a set with a lot of enchantment creatures and auras, this card is nuts. Did I mention its at common?

This is a first-pick limited card. As for Standard, this will definitely be in many a sideboard and, who knows, maybe it will make its way into the main board. There are already a few decks that use enchantment creatures or auras and, while there are decks going around that don’t, it’s still worth while. Heck, there are black decks that run Doomblade in the mainboard just in case. If those decks are willing to run the risk of a mirror match-up, wouldn’t this card be a better alternative along the same lines of logic?

I’ve already covered Silence the Believers previously so I’ll move on to the next card, which is Spiteful Blow. It kills a creature, costs 6 mana and is a sorcery. Sip of Hemlock is always useful in limited, so this card will follow similar lines. Note, that at 6 mana, this is also not going to see any constructed play.

Still, it destroys a land. If you’re on turn 6 and are going to kill a creature, would you rather remove two life or destroy a land? In some match ups, I think Spiteful Blow can throw opponents off of a colour, punishing greedy splashes or simply put them back a turn. If you know your opponent has a big Kraken in their hand, this gives you more time to win. Not a first-pick – definitely not over Feast of Dreams – but if you’re in the colours, why not?

Looking at the rest of the set, there’s also Nyx Infusion and Nightmarish End. Both have the ability to shrink opponents creatures. They might kill them entirely, or they might allow you yo trade up with a smaller creature on your own. These are limited staples, but I really think that’s about it for the pair.

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Yay! Minotaurs!

I’ll admit, I was one of those people who was super excited for Minotaur tribal when Theros started. Heck, I’ve even tried a mono-red deck because I felt black was too expensive or lacking a quick enough punch. Born of the Gods introduced Deathmonger, which almost swayed me, but Journey Into Nyx might have the ideal answer…

Okay, so Felhide Petrifier isn’t going to change the world, but I love him anyway. He’s a 2/3 for 3 mana, so he’s already a fairly standard Minotaur. Heck, if he just gave himself deathtouch he’d still be a fine card in most cases. However, he gives ALL your men-cows deathtouch. Combine it with the Rage Blood Shaman for trample and you have something pretty sweet going on. They’re both 3 drops, so it fits into a low enough curve. Combine this with Minotaur tokens and other benefits in Red and Gold (both of which I still need to get to) and I’m getting excited to try Minotaurs again.

Journey Into Nyx Review: Blue Highlights

Carrying on with the overview of Journey Into Nyx, this section will cover my personal highlights for Blue. Again, these are cards I like or expect to make an impact in various formats. So, without further delay…

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 Battlefield Thaumaturge

I’ve already spoken about my love for this card. On the vanilla test, it’s average at best, but its ability is to reduce spells by 1 for each target they cost. Given Strive is on some of the better multi-target instants and sorceries, this card is expected to be huge in Standard and Limited. As for Modern, I’m not sure right now, but there must be low-tier decks out there that will benefit.

Strive cards aside, let’s not forget that there are other cards that target more than one creature. This includes the cycle from Theros and any fireball-style effects we see in the next core set and block. This card is highly playable right now and I expect this to continue well past rotation. I don’t even know what deck to put it in right now but I still want (at least one) full play set.

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Daring Thief

Another Blue rare, Daring Thief is an ability seen occasionally in the past. Being able to swap permanents is a dangerous mechanic, as it can allow the underdog to get a huge advantage. Swapping something terrible for something fantastic is a great change of momentum. With Daring Thief on the board, would you play your best creatures? I thought not..

Similar to Battlefield Thaumaturge, this card is a snap-pick in limited. In Standard, this has potential. I’m thinking Blue/White heroic decks can use it, trading away useless 1/1 tokens for pretty much anything else.

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  Toys and Tricks

What would Blue be without its various trinkets. I’ve already commented on Sage of Hours, as its benefits and uses are quite obvious, so what else does Journey Into Nyx have to offer?

Hubris is a card I’m somewhat cautious of. Bouncing a creature is always good, but do you really want your opponent to get the auras back? While, yes, it stops Ordeals from cracking and prevents bestow creatures from staying on the battlefield, it only delays it. Given the popularity of heroic, this could be a problem in some match ups. I like the idea, but its a difficult pitch to sell when you consider the implications.

Speaking of Bestow creatures, it’s hard to ignore Hypnotic Siren. A 1/1 flyer isn’t bad, but the bestow ability on this card offers huge advantages. For 7 cmc, you can bestow an opponents creature to gain control of it, giving it +1/+1 and flying. This is essentially Journey Into Nyx‘s take on Spirited Away from Avacyn Restored; that’s definitely a good thing. Even when it dies, you get a 1/1 flyer to block or attack in with.

Next up is Polymorphus Rush. Where does this card go? It seems very conditional. I remember Dragonshift from Dragon’s Maze. Great in principle, but it wasn’t the most competiticve deck. As a similar build-around card, Polymorphus Rush requires you to

1. Play a creature you want in multiples (bare in mind that this card makes copies, so attached auras and counters count for nothing).
2. Play additional creatures to become copies
3. Play Polymorphus rush.

While, yes, it can still trigger heroic, I’m not sold on this card. Perhaps its better on your opponents threats? Instead, when it comes to my own board, I’d rather play Hour of Need…

Hour of Need has the exact same casting cost, as well as Strive cost, so its an easy replacement. It replaces all targeted cards with 4/4 flyers. Who doesn’t want a horde of muscle-bound Sphinxes? (Seriously, look at that art and tell me that Sphinx doesn’t even lift…). This seems like a much easier strategy: play cheap dudes, exchange for flying 4/4 tokens.

Also, it’s a common card, so it will have a much bigger impact in Limited than Polymorphus Rush.

Finally, when it comes to tricks, there are a few staples that are of no surprise. There’s a slightly expensive counterspell, some bounce mechanics and something that reduces the power of enchanted creatures. These are all expected and, while playable, none strike me as unique or new.

Journey Into Nyx Review: White Highlights

We’ve all had a few days to look over the full set of Journey Into Nyx. While others might like to review a set more thoroughly, I like to go over each colour and highlight my personal favorites, or cards I expect to see play in certain formats. Chances are I’ll probably be wrong about more than a few cards – you can’t always predict the meta-game straight away – but there are definitely a few cards that are standing out here.

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Aegis of the Gods

This card is simple in its execution, but it delivers the results certain players will want. “You have hexproof” is something that always proves popular and has done so at higher mana costs. Innistrad block had Witchbane Orb, a 4 mana artifact, and Leylines always prove popular in modern. However, getting the effect for a CMC of 2 comes at a cost. Being both a small creature and an enchantment I imagine there are more than a few ways to take this guy down.

Still, it fits into a White Weenie deck and, at the very least, its a good hoser against red spells if you can protect it, wasting your opponents removal/burn cards. Standard playable, for sure, but it puts you into certain archetypes if you open this in a draft.

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Banishing Light

What can you say about Banishing Light? It’s Oblivion Ring, only fixed for the format. It goes hand in hand with Constellation, but it’ll be playable in any decks Oblivion Ring had a home in – its definitely a card for standard and will be thought over in drafts.

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Deicide

I’ve already briefly touched upon this card when discussing the five gods of Journey Into Nyx, but it’s worth mentioning again.

This card is fantastic against any deck running gods, but which gods are competitive? Thassa and Erebos see play in their respective devotion decks, but most other gods see fringe play. Still, it’s instant speed enchantment removal and is definitely powerful. If this isn’t in most White sideboards, I’ll be surprised. In limited it offers some potential removal, but I’m not sure its a priority pick (unless you’re rare-drafting).

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 Flying done White

Anyone else notice the great flyers given to White here? At rare we have obvious bombs, such as Dawnbringer Charioteers, which are obviously playable, but even the commons and uncommons look very well costed.

Eagle of the Watch is a 2/1 for 3 mana, This puts on par with Black’s Blood-Toll Harpy, but it also has vigilance. It plays in White’s strengths and, in my opinion, this out weights the Harpy’s ETB trigger.

However, it’s hard to ignore Skyspear Cavalry in the uncommons. A 2/2 flying double strike creature is very powerful, even at a 5 CMC. It’s a little expensive but, if it sticks, it’s going to cause trouble. White can either protect it, or throw it down with enough creatures that it either makes a difference or causes a big enough threat to eat up vital removal from the opponent. Of course, like all creatures with double strike, it makes good use of aura’s and stat boosts.

At common we also  have Supply-Line Cranes for the same mana cost, but it doesn’t excite me much. a 2/4 in the air is always useful, as is the +1/+1 counter, but I would rather run Skyspear Cavalry any day.

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Tethmos High Priest

I want someone to break this card. Even when limited to something with a CMC of 2 or less, getting a creature back to the battlefield is always useful. I remember when Sun Titan was very powerful back in the day and, while Tethmos High Priest has nowhere near as much potential, there are plenty of creatures with a CMC of 2 or less, especially in white.

Throw this in the right heroic deck and opponents will need to be careful with their removal or combat math. Its simple card advantage: done right, its very hard to argue against.

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Removal

Finally, let’s not forget White is getting some great removal and effective answers here, too. Deicide speaks for itself, but Reprisal is just as nice. For the same cost, you can destroy any creature with power 4 or greater without it regenerating. It destroys none-enchantment creatures, covering an area Deicide can’t reach. It’s also uncommon, so it’ll be much more relevant in limited. Smite the monstrous was powerful in Innistrad block and that cost twice as much. That was very playable, so this will be even more so.

Likewise, Armament of Nyx. While it’s not specifically removal, it can either give your guy double-strike or essentially turn an opponents non-enchantment creature into an ineffective defender. Its conditional, but still playable.

However, I know more than a few people who are excited about Oppressive Rays. It costs one less than pacifism for a similar effect, the only difference being the opponent can attack or activate abilities if they pay 3. I imagine many decks will love this – it outright stops cards in the early game and eats up mana in the late game – but it will make the most sense in rush decks. Play this on turn one or two and you can carry on swinging without having to worry about the enchanted creature. By the time your opponent can pay the mana, you’ve likely gained a fairly big advantage.

The Gods of Journey Into Nyx

When the Gods from Journey Into Nyx were first previewed, I wanted to do a run down of the whole 5. Since the they have all been showcased, now would arguably be the best time to do so.

Like all the two-color Gods, the 5 from Journey Into Nyx follow a simple patter. Sure, the mana cost may change, but each costs two colors and requires 7 devotion of those two colors to become a creature. And yes, all are indestructible. So, in alphabetical order.

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 ATHREOS, GOD OF PASSAGE

Athreos is the Black/White god, so it’s no surprise his mechanics revolve around the graveyard and life. That said, I think many decks will find Athreos very competitive and very playable. As a 3 drop enchantment, he ensures you either get cards back or your opponent loses life. This works well in decks playing lots of creatures – think white weenie or black aggro.

Furthermore, he’s still a god, so the card is hard to get rid of. In the late game he can turn into an indestructible creature as well, so there’s even more to deal with. A 5/4 isn’t the best, but these cards aren’t meant to be competitive creatures. Athreos has a very passive ability but it nonetheless puts the pressure on the opponent. Deathtouch creatures, for instance, become all the more aggressive. With Athreos on the board they will still manage to trade well and, depending on the circumstances, your opponent may pay life just to ensure you don’t put it back on the battlefield anytime soon.

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IROS, GOD OF VICTORY

Iroas is the Red/White and obviously fits into aggressive, Boros style strategies. He has two abilities that work very well together to provide an aggressively costed 4 mana enchantment.

First of all, each creature you control can only be blocked by two or more creatures. Madcap Skills is still playable in standard, so seeing the best part of this card continue is fantastic. It ensures some of your creatures are likely to get through and, in many circumstances, your opponent can’t chump block as lightly as they would like.

The second ability makes the first one much more deadly. By preventing all damage to attacking creatures you control, everything you swing in with is effectively sticking around during combat. Trades aren’t an option for your opponent, as deathtouch and damage have no effect. Admittedly, this makes Boros Reckoner less effective, which is a shame as its one of the best cards for ramping up the devotion count.

For four mana, I like this guy a lot. From the moment he enters, he causes trouble. Similar to Athreos, he works well in decks that go wide rather than tall, ensuring white weenie strategies have much more tools to use. I’m also curious as to whether White-Black-Red may be a thing, as the two gods certainly work well together.

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KERANOS, GOD OF STORMS

I’m not too sure what to make of Keranos, the Blue-Red god. I think he’s certainly playable in the right deck, but generic decks in these colors won’t get the most use out of him.

A free lightning bolt each turn is fantastic, but Keranos asks for a non-land card first. This is easy to do if you have plenty of scry and deck manipulation to ensure your ideal draw step, but that instantly puts you into an Izzet-control strategy. That’s fine its it self, but it nonetheless encourages you to play as few lands as possible… but Keranos himself has a CMC of 5.

Furthermore, Ral Zerek is also in standard right now. While you might not get as many ‘bolts as Keranos, it nonetheless serves a similar role and function. Depending on the meta-game post-rotation, I’m expecting we might see more of Keranos.

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KRUPHIX, GOD OF HORIZONS

Kruphix is the Blue-Green god and arguably the one I was looking forward to the most. Of all the colour combinations, I find Blue and Green have the least obvious overlap. In most cards, such as Return to Ravnica‘s Simic Guild and the gold cards seen throughout Theros block, Blue and Green often focus on mana and creatures. While this seems Green, giving big creatures flying and trample definitely make these creatures feel Green and Blue. Yet Kruphix is none of these.

I like Kruphix, I do. I’m just not sure what to do with him. A 5 mana card that gives you an unlimited hand size is unplayable and, while storing mana is nice, it has very little uses right now. What are the main X spells in blue and green? There are a few, but they’re not game-winners. I hope it sees play, as I would love to see some huge hydras on the battlefield, but I worry these decks would be too concerned with the late game to make the most of it.

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PHARIKA, GOD OF ALLICTION

Pharika, the Black-Green god, is another god fits into certain decks. She’s aggressively costed at 3 mana, but her ability seems to be both a gift and a curse.

Removing a card from your graveyard is great if it gets you a 1/1 deathtouch creature. The only problem is most current strategies in Golgari colours have other uses for the graveyard. Both Jarad and Nighthowler require creatures to stay in the graveyard; Pharika directly opposes this tactic.

Likewise, you need to be selective about what you do with your opponent’s graveyard. Since they’ll receive a snake for their trouble, it needs to be a card that’s too much of a threat for you to handle. However, there is a card that’s easier to cast and does the same thing – Scavenging Ooze. Why try and hook up a 3-mana god when a 2-mana creature arrives a turn quicker and does the same thing for life/counters rather than giving your opponent an advantage. Like Keranos, I’m predicting Pharika will see much more play when the currently-relevant cards rotate out of the format.

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GODS IN THE META-GAME

I like Gods. They’re big, splashy and are fun to play. Since the start of Theros, we’ve seen numerous Gods become popular in Standard (and even Modern) because of their abilities. Also, they’re indestructible.

So it was a only a matter of time until some way to remove them came around. Deicide is exactly that – but is it undercosted? At two mana, it gets rid of all Gods of a type. This shuts down Thassa in mono-blue and Erebos in mono-black, as well as any other god White gets to face against. Even if its not a god, it still exiles enchantments, so its safe to say this will be in White sideboards at the very least.

If it gets too powerful, however, it runs the risk of making Gods too risky. Why play something that can be removed with one spell, along with your other three copies? That’s too much card value for the opponent, so perhaps one or two copies might be the way to go. Who knows.

Journey Into Nyx Previews thus far

We’ve seen a fair amount of Journey Into Nyx so far – for those that want to keep track you can visit Wizard’s official gallery – so it’s a good a time as any to analyses the set so far and see where it’s going. Like any set, there are cards that look great in limited, cards that look set to be Standard staples and, if you’re lucky, cards that co do a bit of both.

I’ve already done an overview on the set’s mechanics, so this is more of a run through of some of the more noticeable or worthwhile cards.

Battlefield Thaumaturge and the Super-Strive deck.

Strive is a simple mechanic that already plays well, makes sense and enables heroic on a larger scale, provided you have the mana to spare. Some cost very little to ‘Strive up’ while others, such as Ajani’s Presence, cost a lot to get the most benefit out of.

Then Wizard’s made Battlefield Thaumaturge …

As a 2/1 for one and a blue, it’s not the most amazing creature, but when it reduces instants and sorcery spells by 1 mana for each creature they target, you’ve got an instant build-around card.

One card that instantly comes to mind is Launch the Fleet. With Battlefield Thaumaturge out, Launch the Fleet only ever costs one white mana to target all your creatures.

Likewise, if you want something more versatile, how about Glimpse the Sun God? The X essentially becomes free, letting you target your own guys (for heroic) and tapping down the opponents board.

Let’s face it, Battlefield Thaumaturge is to instants and sorcery spells what Hero of Iroas is too aura’s. This card is a bomb in limited, great in Standard and is screaming to be put into a blue/white heroic deck. Why not go in and add Sage of Hours just because you can.

It also works well in Red-Blue, since all your burn spells become 1 mana less to cast if they’re targeting a creature. What’s better than removal? Cheaper removal.

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 White Weenie

Okay, so Spear of Heliod already gives white weenie an anthem effect, but it’s very limited. It’s only +1/+1 and, as it is on a legendary artifact, can’t stack up. Now there’s Dictate of Heliod.

With a CMC of five mana, Dictate needs to be a blow out to help in the weenie deck. Still, at +2/+2 it’s hard to argue against. I remember when Tempered Steel was a thing in Standard during the Scars of Mirrodon block.

Again, Launch the Fleet could really help this strategy. It spams tokens and goes well with the small amount of token spam already in Standard, although Precinct Captain will rotate out later in the year.

Likewise, Elspeth and Brimaz ensure many ways to get cheap tokens out. This is something I would consider putting together and, while I doubt it’s not as competitive as mono-black, it certainly looks tempting.

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  Black’s New Toys

On the subject of mono-black, is there anything in Journey to Nyx that might make its way into the mono-black decks dominating Standard right now? There are a few possible contenders but, right now, I’m not sure they’re better than their current counterparts – perhaps they’ll come into force more after rotation.

Master of the Feast is a solid card, but its draw back might just be too high a price. There are definitely decks out there that want a 5/5 flying creature on turn 3, but rewarding your opponent with card draw is risky. For instance, black decks love to run hand attack ala Thoughtseize, so why go to the effort to refill it for them? Also, at 3 mana I still prefer Herald of Torment. It’s only a 3/3 with flying, but it doesn’t give the opponent an advantage and, in the late game, you can bestow it to have a more immediate impact.

In a similar manner, the removal showcased in this set (so far) doesn’t do enough to amaze me. Extinguish All Hope is nice in principle, but it requires you to play enchantment creatures and hope your opponent(s) play non-enchantment creatures. Sideboard worthy, but only a madman would run a 6 mana gambit in the main deck.

What I do like a little, however, is Silence the Believers. At 4 mana, with the option to Strive, it destroys target creature and removes the auras. Its a niche card, but being able to kill a voltron deck outright is a huge win. Great in limited but I haven’t seen enough of this tactic in Standard (even though I’m running it myself) to warrant an inclusion in the mainboard. Still, this is definately secret sideboard tech for the right matchups.

Finally, there is one card I would love to see get some competitive play, but fear that it might not be aggressive enough. That card is King Macar, the Gold-Cursed. When your Inspired ability is Gild, the appeal is instant. The trick, however, is getting to tap him. Spring leaf drum provides one option – and I have seen black aggro decks use it with Painseer – but he’s not likely to survive contact. Still, I love the abilities, flavor and art on the card, so I just want to see more of him everywhere.

The only other black card that springs to mind is Gnarled Scarhide. Sure, it can’t block, but a 2/1 on turn 1 is very aggressive. Any deck’s running Rakdos Cackler, Shred Freak and co will likely want 4 of these.

Anyway, that’s the main highlights in my opinion of the set so far. I’m looking forward to having a look at the set entirely, too, but it certainly has delivered on a lot of its potential so far.

Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, Kicker of Asses

So, the new Ajani was previewed today and, as many had predicted, he’s a green white Planeswalker. He’s the only Planeswalker in the set (Journey into Nyx is a small set) so is he any good?

The easiest way to analyze this card, as with any Planeswalker, is to look at the three abilities. However, it should be noted Ajani has two +1 options and one ultimate. Most have a +X ability, a -X and an ultimate. Ajani works a little differently to ensure you can always choose one of two options in a build up to 8 loyalty.

Option One

Distribute three +1/+1 counters among one, two, or three target creatures you control.

This is White-Green in a nutshell. You have three counters between three creatures. You could give one guy +3/+3 or share the wealth with a Reap What is Sown affect. The difference in being able to target just one creature is important, as you don’t lose encounters. At the very least, giving a creature +1/+1 is not new for Ajani, but this is a much better option.

Option Two

Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal an Aura, creature or planeswalker card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.

Being able to look through the top four cards is very green, but the end goal is to get a creature or a land. Ajani taps into white and plays into Theros block’s strengths. This time you can get Aura’s too. In the right deck this is a big deal, as it plays

However, the option to take a planeswalker card may prove to be a big deal. Naya planeswalkers gets a little boost in more ways than one. In addition to a new ‘walker, Ajani lets you go digging for the likes of Xenagos, Domri Rade, Elspeth, Garruk and friends. Depending on how you build it, Ajani let’s you search for what you need, as long as it isn’t land.

Option Three

You gain 100 Life

What more can you say? “Gain 100 Life” is a pretty bold effect. It puts your opponent back so much, eventually giving you more time to earn the win. Of course, it doesn’t make you invincible, but it ensures aggressive decks can’t run you into the ground any time soon.

Given that Ajani is a 5 drop and takes 4 turns to get to 8 loyalty, he is likely going off on Turn 9 at best. In this instance he could prove to be a saving grace, buffing your life up. Of course, once he gets close he’ll only become a bigger target. Because of his ultimate, I’m half-expecting Ajani, Mentor of Heroes to be the target to more than a few copies Heroes Downfall.

 

 

Journey Into Nyx mechanics

Spoilers started earlier this week, so we’re starting to get a good look at Journey Into Nyx – for a mostly up to date list, the official gallery is a good place to look.

Anyway, what are the mechanics like? These abilities are often a good way to measure where a set is going and Journey Into Nyx has plenty to look into. It has:

• Heroic
• Bestow
• Devotion
• Monstrosity
• Inspired
• Strive
• Constellation

So, while Born Of The God‘s Tribute did not return, along side the addition of new mechanics Strive and Constellation, this small set has, uh, 8 mechanics. I know Dragon’s Maze had 11 but, still, this is another small set bristling with mechanics…

HEROIC

Heroic is more or less the same as it has always been, although the generic “put a +1/+1 counter on this” is bleeding into other colors. In Theros and Born Of The Gods, this was mostly in white and green; the former often got single counters or counters across the board, while green doubled or tripled up on the counters given to a single card.

This time red and blue get in on the action, and I wouldn’t be surprised i black gets involved, too. Red seems to be the bog standard – so far there is a common 1/1 for Red that gets a +1/+1 counter. Maybe not standard playable, but good in the right limited deck.

However, blue’s Sage of Hours showcases some of the design space still left. Sure it’s blue’s mythic ‘extra turn’ card, but it encourages you to use the counters in different means. Given Master Biomancer is still in standard, I like the creative ways to encourage the mechanic. Blue is arguably the last color to care about this strategy (it isn’t sneaky enough) but this looks promising.

BESTOW

Bestow is another staple of the block and has seen an interesting evolution in Theros block. Aside from the rares and mythics (Chromanticore for the win), Theros defined bestow with two cycles. The Dryad cycle and Emissary cycle gave bestowed creatures, or itself, a boost to power and toughness and an ability. The former had evergreen abilities and the latter had more complex options.

Born Of The Gods followed this with vanilla creatures. Although this was a step backwards, they proved vital in limited and probably saw enough play in homebrew Standard.

Journey Into Nyx takes this to the logic extent, a cycle of cards that offer a mostly negative ability. The idea? Play them on your own guys for power at a cost, or boost your opponents stuff to get a loophole advantage. Why would you bestow an opponents creature? To make sure it can’t block. Given this gives them an edge, too, you have to be careful with how to use these guys.

I like this, I’m just not sure they’re all that playable. It’s still a large boost you wouldn’t want to give your opponent and, well, I would consider drafting Mogis’s Warhounds myself. In a Red/White deck – an archetype that already plays a minotaur that has to attack – having to attack each turn is a decent trade for +2/+2.

DEVOTION

Devotion only makes a small appearance here, as it’s only on the five gods. These five follow the five in Born Of The Gods; if you have seven Devotion in the right colors, your indestructible enchantment becomes a creature. This worked then, so it will work now. I’ll likely look at the Gods more when the last three have been revealed.

MONSTROSITY

Tribute might have taken its place in Born Of The Gods, but Monstrosity is back in Journey Into Nyx. Similar to Theros, this seems to have potential. What has been shown for is a standard creature – Ravenous Leucrocota is a 2/4 vigilance with monstrosity with a CMC of 4 – that simply gets better for a big cost. At the moment, nothing strikes me as Standard playable, but making your vigilance creature even bigger in the late game definitely makes it worth while in a slower, limited format.

It’s a very green mechanic. Of course, it’s creature centric but it asks you to keep your creatures alive for a bigger pay off. I’d also expect to maybe see it in red and black – yet, with so many mechanics, I think blue might get a break from Monstrosity in this set.

If there are better cards in uncommon and rare, there may be some staples of Red, Green monsters, but its nonetheless a solid ability.

SCRY

Scry is simple and elegant. It’s used as you would expect here, with tap abilities and scry lands. While it hasn’t been spoiled, I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a few instants and sorceries with scry. It seems plausible, but it would be competing with Strive for space – as such, this set might let the new mechanic take a greater share of the spotlight.

INSPIRED

Nothing has been shown so far, but Born Of The God’s Inspired is said to return. It’s another creature-only ability (unless there are enchantments that grant it) so it should arguably be a limited run. Still, it was useful in limited and I expect this will continue if it has a fair mana cost.

STRIVE

The first of this set’s new mechanics, Strive is most commonly being viewed as a tweaked Multi-kicker. While the latter was very broad, Strive lets you play the strive cost as many times as you like for additional targets (think of it as how Fireball worked).

I like it, but I have concerns. From the one card seen so far, the Strive cost ensures you can’t go all-out nuts. This is most likely to ensure it’s not used in a white Heroic deck (all the triggers would be insane), but it has its options. For one mana, Ajani’s presence saves one of your guys and hopefully gets a Heroic trigger. Yet, pay the Strive cost once for a total CMC of 4 mana and it saves two. That seems very plausible but three creatures, which needs a CMC of 7, is not as likely. Who keeps up that kind of mana? While the potential is broad, the reality seems much more narrow right now.

CONSTELLATION

Finally, another new mechanic. If Strike was a re-worked Multi-kicker, Constellation is a combination of Landfall and Allies for enchantments. This is a good thing.

So far, all the creatures with Constellation have been enchantment-creatures themselves. The result is one guaranteed trigger with the promise of more. While this triggers in a similar fashion to Landfall, you can play more than one enchantment a turn. The result is something akin to Allies and I expect ‘Constellation decks’ may be a thing.

Eidolon of Blossoms, for instance, is a prime example. For four mana, you get a 2/2 and a card. From then on, any enchantment nets you an extra card, creating a pretty powerful card draw engine.

The only drawback is the cost. Eidolon of Blossoms is ideal, but larger costs may be too much of a late game hope. I remember Allies in Zendikar and Worldwake – at a lower cost, the idea was to get multiple triggers and as many benefits as possible. It wasn’t always aggro or rush, but it was at the short to mid-range end of the spectrum.