Remember The Fallen #2- The Re-Reboot

Welcome back to another Thor's Day, Zoners!

So, 2015 is going to be a pretty exciting year for TGZ. We've got some fresh new writers pumping out content, Stack episodes everywhere waiting to get booted up, and several other old/new ideas that the gang and I are going to re-start. I can't wait to share it all with ya!

The first of which is a one-off series I started last year and never continued- Remember the Fallen. Kudos to you if you remember, Remember the Fallen- but if not, I'm going to tell you anyway.

(If you want, here's the first one: Remember the Fallen #1)

FACT: Some decks are going to sound awesome. Like the Xenagos Ball Lightning deck I featured in my first installment of Remember the Fallen.

FACT: Not all decks are going to be good. 

More importantly, not all decks are going to be ones that we like, let alone ones that we keep.

This is what Remember the Fallen is all about. Often, I use Better Deckbuilding as my own little primer for deck designs I like and make so that they may inspire you to take some of my tech and try your own little spin on it. 

However, because I'm a constant deckbuilder, and again, I can't like every design I make, there are some real bad ones that often get dismantled or abandoned quickly throughout my deckbuilding process. And because I believe it is important to show that I am not a machine that gets it right every time, we're going to make time and place so I can show you all the deck designs that didn't quite make it- which might inspire a few of you to share your lists and show me a thing or two. 

So let's get started (again!)

Prime Speaker Zegana, aka PSZ, is a card that I've openly admitted I was entirely wrong to be disappointed with when she got spoiled back in Gatecrash. Everything about this card is right, I don't know what I was thinking, mea culpa like twenty-thousand times to William Murai for the brilliant art, as well as Design and Development for a fully functioning Simic Alternative.

And because it is well known that my love for Simic is moderately infinite, I did take her for a test drive last Fall.

The design was difficult- I didn't want to make the Control/Hexproof Dinosaurs deck, or this neat little Loam/Land Play deck that looked really solid.

I settled on a Wizard-Tribal/Combo deck, which ended up being not bad. Unlike some of my designs that don't make it past the Goldfish rounds, the 1v1 and multiplayer test drives did yield some victories.

Door of Destinies in conjunction with Master Biomancer set up Fathom Mage to always Evolve, as well as create some hilariously big Thought Couriers.

My big combos in the deck involved Biovisionary or Lab Maniac, so I was either drawing into a Rite of Replication or drawing everything. Oh, yeah- and I got to play Prophet of Kruphix. #HagridToldHimHeWasAWizard

Ultimately, the counterspells made the deck durdle, and the combos went stale quickly, mostly because the set up was very similar to Azami. There was just too many big-time, one-trick things in this deck to keep my interest in it long term, so I pulled off a Lab Maniac combo, a Biovisionary combo, and retired it.

So another year, another Boros deck dismantled. That seems to be a common thing for me as I continue to search for the right one for me in Red and White.

I'll admit the reason Anax and Cymede failed was a lot on me in deck design.

The concept seemed cool- Auras combined with Trick Voltron to make for a little Aggro deck with opportunities for multiple Heroic triggers. I'd done some serious Gatherer searching for Auras like Flickering Ward and Ghitu Firebreathing, which could be bounced and re-cast for Heroic value. Coupled with a few nice Storm spells like Astral Steel, I thought this was going to make for a nice deck.

What went wrong was two things. The first was that I forgot that mana was required, not only to bounce the enchantment, but to also re-cast it. Not compensating for this, the deck had a heck of a time repeating and resetting the effects of the Auras as many times as I wanted.

The other thing I got wrong, which was dumb, was a rules oversight with regards to Storm. Any copies I got off of Storm weren't going to trigger Heroic because, guess what? WE DON'T ACTUALLY CAST THE COPIES OFF OF STORM!

Those were probably the two biggest blunders I made in design, but there were actually two additional issues that broke the camel's back, leading to deck demolition.

The third problem was that we were swimming in options. What I mean is that I really threw every Heroic card I could play into the deck so I could figure out what, if any, were going to work. Like, do I always target A & C to get pumps and trample? Do I target this Vanguard of Brimaz to get Cat Tokens?

Having so many different options may sound good, but design-wise, none of these cards were big enough to get around creatures, so we were always making a sacrifice, and that's without trying to account for removal.

The last issue was just one I've had with all Boros decks I've made since the beginning of time- I never seem to have enough cards in my hand. While I like to think that I've become a better Aggro player, I'm still a calculating one. I take chances when I can, play tricks to protect my stuff, and most of my designs can support the tempo I want to play at.

Because of the innate need for R/W to get wide, I feel like I'm constantly over-committing to the board state, putting myself on a clock that's going to run out faster than I want. Clearly, I'm doing something wrong, and I've got to fix it- until then, the search continues!

I talked about Mirko a little bit in my strategy column over on CommanderCast, but I thought I'd get a little bit more in-depth about what was going on.

I'm still on the lookout for my Mill Commander. I'm also on the lookout for having a deck that's fun, that can win, but that I'm just as comfortable losing with. I'm also looking to have a successful Dimir deck at some point.

So against my better judgment, I threw together a scraggly-little Mill deck so I wouldn't be so behind while Mesmeric Orb was trending on Twitter (NOTE: I don't know if that's true. I actually don't Twitter). Fact though- Sidisi has made this Mesmeric Orb a pretty known quantity.

At first, I thought I might have some hope. Mirko, being just the right amount of unplayable, could come in under the radar and take away/potentially give my opponents a bunch of cards.

Ultimately, the deck got taken apart because it was just too slow. No joke- I did at least 18 damage with Mirko by the time I had an opponent's library in the Shelldock Isle zone (That's 20 cards or less, in case you've forgotten your Hideaway lands), and I just thought, "That's too much for not enough." The deck was working, and I could've probably made it better, but I just didn't want to spend any more time goofing off.

Well, that's all I have for now. Before I go, here's a link to the Milling article published yesterday over on the Big Brothership, CommanderCast:

Mill-osophy

Also- Here's a link to my first podcast, in which I got to guest interview one of the creators of Tiny Leaders, Steven Hamonic.

CommanderCast #185- Tiny Leaders (and I'm on it!)

As always, my failures hopefully lead to your gain. If you've got decklists featuring any of these Fallen heroes, or you've seen some in action, and they have a nice online list for us to look at, share them with us!

Thanks! Turn's To You.

-UL

Calling All Autobots!

Happy Thor's Day Zoners! 

We got a few pieces of mischief I'd like to manage today. First of all, if you're looking for an article from me about what I like to talk about, here's my "Trick" Voltron piece that featured on CommanderCast yesterday. Check it out, leave me a line in the comments if you've got questions or an inspiration.

CommanderCast- Trick Voltron

In other news, let's get to the title for this article. Me and Gramps are in the market for some people that want to talk about Commander content and general Magic news. We're also gearing up for a big return of your favorite tech segment, The Stack, and we're looking for guests for that too.

This message goes out to all Autobots, particularly writers and avid Commanders looking for a soapbox.

So if you have a cool idea for an ongoing segment, or you're interested in chatting about cards, shoot me an email at unclelanddrops@gmail.com. We're here. We're waiting.

You can look forward to next week's feature, where I get to talk about the most Land Dropping Land Drops deck I've designed to date- Titania, Protector of Argoth. 

Alright. Mischief Managed!

-UL

Card Corner: Narset, Enlightened Master

Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme- What's that sound?

It's Card Corner time!

Happy New Year's Zoners. I know I reserved this column to talk about niche, questionable, or sometimes downright awful EDH technology, but today we're going to talk about Narset, who is, in my opinion, the best Commander of 2014.

Yeah, as impossible as it may seem, the American wedge finally has a "bobsled team." And it's led by a 6-cost, 3/2 with hexproof.

All of these weird things I'm saying are cinematic allusions from the 90's oddball masterpiece Cool Runnings, where John Candy plays a coach who seeks Winter Olympic redemption by bringing an unlikely group of Jamaicans into the bobsledding scene. And it works!

I think that's the theme for Narset here. Despite being in a difficult color combination, despite being undersized for her converted mana cost, I find that the sum of her qualities work to create a pretty powerful dose of combat-infused value akin to some of Commander's biggest and baddest.

Where most people see these weaknesses, there is actually strength, leading to a strong relational design. What I mean is that the abilities feel pre-meditated, planned, and developed well in testing so that she yields high potential energy without being innately overpowered.

Anyone who's been playing on Cockatrice or MTGO has probably seen this deck accomplishing what Jeleva was attempting to do last year- cast every Time Warp and Relentless Assault- spell imaginable. And chances are, they're going "21 and done" at a strangely consistent rate.

This is because Narset, as I mentioned, is more balanced than Zur and Jeleva. What she lacks in evasion she makes up for in power, toughness, and static abilities. Her 3 power gives her a meaty first strike and an amount of damage that could be left unblocked on a first swing. Hexproof nerfs targeted removal, ensuring opportunity for attack and forcing your opponents to play more Wraths, Edicts, and/or Arcane Laboratory if they want to have answers to the Jeskai Khan.

Perhaps the biggest pitfall is her converted mana cost. It's a lot sure, but it's actually my favorite part. Costing six, combined with an alternate set of static abilities makes her a prime target for all three Scourge Dragon enchantments- Dragon Scales, Dragon Breath, and Dragon Wings.

Not only are these cards cheap to cast, but they have the potential to always be free, attaching to Narset every time she comes in, granting her any combination of Haste and Firebreathing, +1/+2 and Vigilance, or Flying and Cycling. Unlike some of the other enchantress deck options, the power is always at its maximum, thanks to Hexproof and CMC. Short of a Torpor Orb or Hushwing Gryff, these are always going to be relevant enablers in conjunction with ye olde Swords of X and Y, and all the other free non-creature spells you're going to flip and cast.

Overall, I believe this makes Narset the "Most Voltron" Voltron General ever printed, as well as a deck that can enable successful creatureless builds.

Again, enjoy January 1, Zoners. Feel free to share your thoughts with Narset or any of the new Fate Reforged spoilz in the comments below. Have a good one, and always remember- Friends Don't Let Friends Play The Mimeoplasm.

Pass.
-UL

Card Corner: Sapphire Charm

Today's Card Corner is somewhat inspired by one of the decks featured on CMDR decks this week.

Fellow Zoner and member of my playgroup Matt AKA "Matt" is showing off his Taniwha (pronounced Tah-Ni-Fah, apparently, because it's Maori, and some very angry people are upset that we were phonetic) EDH deck on the YouTube Channel CMDR Decks.

So here on TGZ, I thought we'd spend just a few minutes talking about one of my favorite little pieces of theme-y tech from Matt's Dollar General Taniwha Gyarados design- the Sapphire Charm.

This is truly Grandpa Growth tech, as he is the first person I ever saw play Sapphire Charm, and that might be surprising to some of you- Cause he doesn't normally like goofy things.

Still, he's pretty notorious for playing any card that says, "Draw a card," and that's probably why it found its way into random mono-blue decks he was playing a few years ago, and in an Isochron Scepter package for this insane Vorosh BUG Control Deck that proved tough to beat in 1v1.

What I like about SC is actually its second mode though. Tempo is the one-word answer I'd give if I was trying to describe my approach to the game, because it is the generation of momentum and general quickness that can get you out of almost every situation. Playing tempo-focused games, whether it's controlling it, or just finding the right window in which to generate it, is often the best way to win games.

Phasing is the theme of Matt's Taniwha deck, which is why this card is in there. For those who've never had to care about this bygone mechanic, Phasing is an ability that triggers simultaneously with the untap step, moving permanents back into the visible spectrum of the battlefield if they were not in before, and out if they were in play at the time of the untap step.

Essentially, this turns Sapphire Charm into a weird Fog on your opponent's biggest creature, which can be important when getting damage through. Again, tempo. Optimal timing and precision with this take skill, as does having the patience to wait until you really need the card draw.

Although these are the primary functions of SC as I've seen it, getting this card on an Isochron Scepter has allowed me to abuse all of its functions. Giving a creature flying might not be that great, but evasion is real, as is knowing the card's entire potential. I know I've had many moments with modal cards where I've forgotten all the things they do. However, if you can keep it all square in your head, or do a quick run-through when you draw the card without arousing too much suspicion, Sapphire Charm is a great little instant to throw into your deck.

For those interested in more Phasing, and seeing me and Matt share his Taniwha list, check out the video below.


Pass Turn.
-UL

Card Corner: Opal Palace

Happy Tuesday once again Zoners.

Today we take a special look inside one of the newest Commander-specific additions to the mana Multiverse in Opal Palace.

Normally, I talk on Card Corner about how super-awesome-extraordinary a card is or can be when put in the right deck.

Surely, this is not the case for Opal Palace. I've tried it out now in a few decks, and I've got some good scouting efforts. So let's get to them.

In the Commander 2013 Review, GG talked about how he felt Command Tower was grossly overpowered. I think he's pretty right. Our expectations of getting something equally as powerful or even more were definitely dashed when they spoiled this thing, which looks more like the rejected concept art for the Wizard of Oz, or a rainbow forcefield on the secret command center for the Power Rangers.

Still, I don't think Opal Palace is terrible- but it really does have to be in the right deck. And if you played any of the preconstructed versions of the deck for any length of time, you may know that the only one that this belonged in was the Marath deck.

Marath meets most of the conditions that allow this deck to thrive, and with a few key changes to its design, Opal Palace could actually be OP.

The first of those conditions is that Marath is a general centric deck, probably focused on 21 general damage and/or setting up combos to get infinite mana, infinite dudes, or infinite +1/+1 counters. You want to cast him early and often, and as long as he doesn't get tucked, you're not worried about your opponents killing him, or Marath being a victim of your own board sweeps. Naturally, all these things are inhibited by an easy-to-meet original CMC.

Many other Commanders share these qualities too. Vorel, Daxos, Ulasht, Animar, Exava, Glissa T's, Isamaru, Omnath- all of these cards would like to have this card out because of the things that they can do with it.

However, the Opal Palace comes with some consistency issues. I had trouble justifying it in Animar without ways to go get it. Furthermore, there really wasn't any reason to want to go get it. Most of the decks I mentioned all have green or great ways to ramp and/or tutor lands, whether it's Weathered Wayfarer, Sylvan Scrying, or just straight up Diabolic Tutor.

Again, though- is Opal Palace going to be a first choice land? No way. In most games I've played with Daxos, having Opal Palace was nice, but it wasn't something that made me want to go out of my way to get. At best, it's a third, fourth, or fifth target for Wayfarer, and a late-late game addition for a deck like Omnath, should it get that far.

That doesn't mean Opal Palace is terrible. After all, it still taps for something. It's just more cut-able than other parts of the mana base.

Have you guys had experience with or against Opal Palace yet?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next time, ____________________________________ (fill in the blank)!

-UL

Spin It Into Myth: Monstrous Results From The Theros Bargain Bin

Happy Tuesday Zoners-

I got pretty busy today, but I wanted to give you an update from our last installment of Spin. So let's get it started.

COLOSSUS OF AKROS

I'm not going to tell everyone to put this into their decks. Our big soldier Golem friend needs big mana, tutelage, potentially ways to cheat him into play.

In my Braids deck, Colossus really thrives. It's a defense when my opponents have a bigger fish to play, and it's another similar late gamer like its Brother from another Mirrodin, Darksteel Colossus.

Unlike it's kin though, CoA plays a lot more like Ulamog's Crusher once Monstrous. Its indestructibility and huge swing ensure that you're going to eat most of your opponent's biggest threats, putting your opponent on the defense.

All in all, it's a big, goofy fun card, which is an exception to most cards I like.

GIFT OF IMMORTALITY

Gift of Immortality was the initial inspiration for a Saffi Eriksdotter deck I just finished recently. I was looking at Theros spoils and thought I'd be able to create a way to make an infinite combo with this and her, but it wasn't the case.

Obvious flavor fouls and rules misinterpretations aside, this card is a house. We all know how good ETB triggers are, and how much card advantage is generated by the Black Reanimator decks.

GoI can actually be worse. In multiplayer, cards like Sakura-Tribe Elder can provide such an incredible mana advantage that it's almost insurmountable. Combined with useful sac outlets, this is a total house. With Greater Good and a big dude, it's extra cards on your opponent's turn.

It protects threats and forces so much removal if it doesn't. Seriously, you want to play this card. This Aura is too good to avoid.

PROGNOSTIC SPHINX

Last card on the docket today is another new Braids addition. Prognostic Sphinx.

One of the common issues I had in my deck was the space between Merfolk Looters and 6-cost flyers like Consecrated Sphinx. It wasn't necessarily a curve problem as much as it was trying to find something I'd want to hard cast in a worst-case situation.

I really liked this guy out of the gate. All of his abilities have been really handy in key situations with this deck. The card advantage has been really useful in tight situations later in the game where my deck is the threat and I need a counterspell to answer.

I've made some pretty nifty plays with him too. Cloning him with a Quicksilver Gargantuan has so far been my favorite. There's nothing like having a bigger version of this card, as well as multiple scry triggers.

Overall, solid card. Definitely a workhorse that can really mind the gap, if your deck needs one.

The cool thing about these cards is that they're all cheap, available, and probably looking for a good home. So if you find a few sitting in trade binders, snag 'em. These puppies deserve a good home.

Sorry about the mix-up last Thursday. Looks like Johnny's got his new segment ready to roll out, so be sure to check that out this week. I don't think it'll disappoint.

Until next time, don't let Nick Cage talk you into stealing the Declaration of Independence.

Choose your own Adventure.
-UL

The Stack #31- TRAP CARD ACTIVATE!

Happy Saturday Zoners!

We begin today's journey with a little brain tickling from Philosoraptor.

I assure you, it fits. The gang's almost all back into full swing in this installment as we talk about some cards that have spurned surprising effects on us, the battlefield, or others.

Sometimes, in tricky situations, it is advantageous to design with the atypical in mind. Mixing things  up is a good quality to have as a deckbuilder and player, and it's important to keep you and your opponents guessing not only when you'll play a spell, but also how you can get it to work.

What we picked for you today are some cards that have actually surprised us in various capacities. So let's get to it.

THIS IS THE STACK!

SURPRISE! NO IT ISN'T! We're going to talk about Commander 2013!

JUST KIDDING! I'LL WRITE ABOUT IT TUESDAY!

THIS REALLY IS THE STACK!

VENSER'S JOURNALIST'S PICK

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
My buddy and mentor plays a deck centered on this card. It's not an artifact heavy deck (though there is an Arcbound Crusher and Dross Scorpion in it), nor does it really play off of large numbers of creatures. In fact, when he pitched the idea of the deck to me, I laughed. He wanted to make a deck based on Norin, the Wary. Turns out, he's not even the main focus of the deck. This card is. This silly, old card is what makes the deck work 90% of the time. I have the scorecards to prove it. This card and a Suture Priest. You do the math.

Johnny Confidant- THUMBS UP
Have you ever feared Rhys and his army? I have and if the idea of this is anything close to that, I'd be ridiculous not to watch out for it.

Grandpa Growth - THUMBS UP
This is a perfect pick for this stack, my hat is off to you VJ. This card looks so fair, but really is so not. I feel like this topic is, "I learned my lesson the first time" or "Things I have been missing out on". You might have to google some decklists to figure out all the combos, but rest assured, people who play this card are intending for it to be pretty broken. Pro tip: don't let that happen.

Uncle Landdrops-  THUMBS UP
I'm actually getting ready to play G-Chamber in what I foresee being a pretty tough little combo deck. I have my own apprehensions about it- mostly, I don't want to turn it into a huggy bear card, and let it end up being the death of me. It's definitely a bad matchup against Doubling Season abusers and other token decks.

GRANDPA GROWTH'S PICK

Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
You may recall Master Warcraft, which this card is a strong callback too, minotaurs and all. This card is less subtle, slower, and much more expensive. In exchange for those downsides you get a body with which to leverage all those attacks and blocks, but also you get the effect every combat. This can get ugly very quickly. This functions much like a copy of The Abyss stapled onto a Prison Term. Their best guy usually can't ever doing anything intelligent and they are almost guaranteed to be losing at least one creature per turn. This...is not 'fun'. Which is perfect for me. Unfortunately, this card is Red and White, which is not a color combination that I typically advocate for Commander play. If this were Legendary and sat at cmc 6 I would be singing a different tune, but for now I am going to say leave it behind.

Johnny Confidant- THUMBS UP
I really like this. I already force people to attack with Basandra and War's Toll so why not add in more of battle shaping effects to the party.

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS DOWN
I get that his effect triggers each combat, which is nice, and that it basically can destroy a chump/creature-not-intended-for-attack each turn; but as frugal as it sounds, the CMC 7 just ruins this for me. For one, he's only a 5/5. I'm not always a big fan of big P/T, but when I think minotaurs, I think ridiculous power. I'd be more satisfied if he were a 7/3 honestly. Also, it is only one creature per combat that attacks/blocks and one creature that cannot. Two per turn isn't bad, but by the time he's in play, you may have a lot more to worry about, especially if your opponent lets you have him on the field.

Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
I considered this card for a couple decks, but found the 7 CMC offputting. One of its redeeming qualities is the fact that it isn't a "when this creature attacks" trigger, something that severely crippled Odric, who is apparently not the actual Master of Tactics. I agree with GG. This would be a pretty neat little Legend. Definitely better than a couple of the cards they made with heavyhanded intentions in the RtR block (Here's looking at you, Aurelia).

JOHNNY CONFIDANT'S PICK

Johnny Confidant-  THUMBS UP
Dying to infect is probably one of the worst ways to go. While talking to a fellow Animar player at my card shop about non-combo out win conditions he mentioned that Inkmoth Nexus has won him some games when plans went awry.

Looking through my deck he noticed Kessig Wolf Run was in it, so I already had half of it anyway. Granted this little combo works once then people tend to watch your mana once one of the two are in play which it kind-of a downside. Inkmoth Nexus took Alchemist's refuge once I got myself a Prophet of Kruphix.

Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS DOWN
I'm not saying Nexus is bad, or that this combo is overplayed. I just think this particular little ditty is one we all know, and without a good support system in the deck to assemble and/or make it unstoppable, it's not something I can really defend or support, from any angle. It's just how I play, and what I've learned from playing Animar. It feels like a distraction. Animar kills people by dealing 40 almost unstoppable points of damage. I'm not seeing why I'd want to play colorless land in a 3-color deck that can turn into a 1/1 that deals a different form of damage not aligned with this strategy. Playing this is just really unappealing to me on a lot of economic levels.

UNCLE LANDDROPS' PICK 

Uncle Landdrops-  THUMBS UP
Not a nice card by any means, but I've been pleased with the results. Preventing opponents from playing chump blockers when you're ahead, or from playing more creatures when you're down makes it a good two-way play. Just make sure you have a few creatures to play post-Wrath or whatever.

I tried this out in a couple of decks, and so far it's taken hold really well in Glissa T's, managing creature counts, keeping me from having to take too much damage, and saving other key artifacts by simply being a nice removal target.

It does pose some serious problems against decks with a lot of ETB creatures though- so be warned. But I think it's worth your time.

Johnny Confidant- THUMBS DOWN
So true that this card is not nice at all. I have been on a few bad ends of resource/utility denial strategies and while my playgroup doesn't have a "House ban-list" we try to shy away from excessive denial routes. I may play both Sylvan Primordial and Deadeye navigator, and in my upcoming Sydri deck ill be running Mycosynth Lattice and Arcum Daggsson but i'm not about to destroy all lands. Likewise if i'm in the lead i'm not going to put into play something that weighs significantly for a win. Personally i feel its better to lose less than i win, but win with interesting plays without hearing alot of "oh... this again"

Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
This card is stellar. This is the kind of stuff I can get behind. Not surprisingly, this is also the kind of stuff that Commander players hate seeing. "Spirit of the Format" and all that nonsense. Play this. Play Hokori Dusk Drinker. Play Gaddock Teeg, or Thalia, or Heartwood Storyteller, or really anything. Deliver the beats while your opponent, who built a deck full of absolute garbage, loses in a slow and humiliating fashion.

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
I like cards like Oblivion Ring and Fiend Hunter. I don't thoroughly understand this card, but I like it's ability. This is probably the best tempo creature control card that I've ever seen (at least that's what I want to think considering I've never played or seen this card played). The backlash of this card may possibly outweigh the benefits (UL hinted to this with ETB creatures), but if you have the cojones to play something this ridiculous, I'd expect you to also have counterspells and a way to protect this artifact.

That's all we got today. Until then, call "Shenanigans!" if you think that the person you're about to battle is going to let his Millenium Puzzle transform him into an older, better card playing Pharoah from Ancient Egypt. Say Yu-Gi-NO!

And enjoy your morning/afternoon cartoons.
-UL/JC/VJ/GG

The Stack #27- Good Gods, Man!

Well, it's Spoiler Season again at TGZ, and we hope you're excited.

With Theros officially spoiled, we're kicking it all off today rating the big boppers in this "Legendary" set.

This week I had our little gang do something different for this week's Stack. After all, with special cards comes great responsibility special ways to rank them, and that's what special cards need, after all.

So enjoy. THIS IS THE STACK!

GG's Ranks

I had a lot of good ideas of what scale to rank these god cards on. I have long been a student of classic literature and culture so I knew instantly that I wanted to compare these cards on a scale that would have meaning in the context of Greek culture.

Alternate options were:
-Most likely to be used for a Deus Ex Machina.
-Most likely to be sporting a 'prodigious burden' (that's a comically large phallus for those out of the loop).
-Most likely to cross dress.
-Which animal/human forms I think would be coolest for these gods.

Ultimately, I decided that the best way to rank these characters was with the following criteria:

Theros Gods Most Likely to Have Illegitimate Children

5. Erebos, God of the Dead.

Jeez, this guy isn't doing himself any favors with his outfit. He looks super creepy. There is no way he is eating properly; look at how skinny and gaunt he is!

Also, carrying around a whip isn't a way to make friends. This gives a clear S&M signal and that is going to be a turn of to a lot of people.

Being the god of the dead also isn't exactly a dream job. The ladies want like, investment banker or doctor that only does charity work in developing countries. Hades had to resort to kidnapping to get a girlfriend and she couldn't even stand being around him.

My advice? Cut your horns, wear a collared shirt, and start working out.

4. Nylea, God(dess) of the Hunt

Right off the bat, Nylea should be a goddess, not a god. She obviously has female features. If gender isn't a relevant concept for the divine powers of Theros, then R&D is betraying one of the most interesting and important facets of the Greek culture on which this set is based....and also making my choice of ranking topic look a bit silly.

Still, she is pretty attractive for a humanoid, but I am getting a prickly vibe off of her. She probably takes her job too seriously and is worried that she won't be treated fairly  if she can't out-compete the men. Ironically, this just makes her less desirable to the men she was trying to be accepted by. No one likes a try hard.

3. Thassa, God(dess) of the Sea

There are plenty of fish in the sea, right? So her odds of scoring a few notches on her bedpost seem pretty good, but the part of this saying that gets left off makes me hesitate. There are plenty of fish in the sea, but many of them are going to end up in a single net.

However, if Tritons breed anything like real-life Earth fish then we could have a whole different problem on our hands. It could be a free-for-all tidal orgy down there. Who knows what can happen? We will need Maury Povich to sort out who the father is!

2. Purphoros, God of the Forge

Man, this guy looks like he has a huge temper problem, but I knew plenty of guys like that in college and they never had any problems with the ladies.

This is exactly the kind of guy you want to be friends with. He has to throw killer parties. Check it out: he sets off fireworks whenever a new friend shows up and he really knows how to get the whole crew riled up and ready to do something stupid. I am sure this guy is showing his hammer to a new girl every weekend.

1. Heliod, God of the Sun

More like God of the Son, am I right?. Let's be honest here. Every land animal is going to be praying at this guy's altars.

Who wouldn't love a shot at the number one personality on the whole plane? This guy is the closest thing you can get to an MtG celebrity.

Jace might have more power, but nobody knows his name when he jumps to a new plane.

On Theros Heliod is the most eligible bachelor and I bet he can't wait to pump out more little clerics to help spread the word about his spear.

JC's Ranks

The way I will be evaluating the gods is by looking at their abilities in combination with their artifacts.

When Wizards said they'd be releasing a Greek mythology-based set I was skeptical. So far I have been surprised at how they took to the theme and captured the feel with powerful effects and the flavor of devotion.  It's my favorite of all ancient civilizations, and I didn't want them to do it wrong.

The gods were a bittersweet release for me, honestly. They felt strong and the devotion mechanic seemed to really fit in but their equipment feels a bit off. As a planeswalker in this world should you be able to wield the weapons of the gods? I'd say not unless the devotion was high. I foresee these as an strong resource that grant strong effects for just existing and that will make EDH a much more dangerous place.

5. Heliod, God of the Sun / Spear of Heliod.

Counting down, this is the weakest link. Mr. Vigilance and his Devotion Crew that feels simply like Mobilization with a creature. Nothing really Impressive to me about him but I'm sure in the right deck he would shine. Token decks will love having another static token producer.

His Spear is odd. Somehow it strengthens your troops. Although I completely get the Avenging Arrow that is attached to it. Feels right that Heliod/Zeus would be able to strike down with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy his "brothers." The pair of them help but there is not as much synergy between them.

4. Erebos, God of the Dead  / Whip of Erebos.

This was a tough guy to place. Ultimately shutting down your opponent's ability to gain life seems lackluster in the grand sceme of Black. I was anticipating Phyrexian Arena on a stick. Instead, we got a corrected draw ability that isn't abusable like Gristlebrand or Necropotence. Kinda disappointed in the God of the Dead.

His Whip is also disappointing. Lifelink is good so in theory shutting down your opponent's life gain abilities makes for an strong advantage and the activated Unearth-like ability seems like alot of power checking on one card. You can't flicker it, or return it to hand or else it's Exiled anyway. Sundial of the Infinite would be the only way to keep it a little longer, but not much. I suppose Sedris Decks will utilize it more than anyone else.

3. Thassa, god(dess) of the sea / Bident of Thassa

Scry is the name here and all my Melek friends out there love to scry but how strong is scry 1 to each player? When we have cards like Top, Scroll Rack, and Soothsaying, why even think of running her? Her ability is where the power lies if you ask me. It's the lowest cost of the 5 and it makes any creature unblockable.

As for her Fork...now this thing has the real power of blue. Capturing the essence of Curiosity and Alluring Siren in overdrive. Though the Siren ability seems out of the color-pie, I'm fine with it.

2. Purphoros, God of the Forge / Hammer of Purphoros

When I was looking at gods that I would play in this set both (green and Thassa called to me for my RUG Animar commander but then This guy came into the fold and Thassa was kicked out for him. Why? Heavy creature decks tend to fall into the aggro style of play and main win conditions really come down to combat damage both by Generals and creature beatdown. Having Purphoros around helps keep on the pressure and spread out the damage to make getting damage through both easier and faster. While he is on the field, each creature entering makes a reusable Shock that gets better with Flash and Flicker battle-tricks. While I'll rarely use his pump, I can see a scenario where that would be necessary but very infrequent with the triggered shock.

His artifact is more powerful when he's on the field. Granting haste to all newcomers especially if your sacrificing your lands to make more creatures, which reads like "sac a mountain, put a 3/3 creature into play and (red god) deals 2 to each opponent.

1. Nylea, God(dess) of the Hunt / Bow of Nylea

The Queen of green. Strong, beautiful and dare I say Enchanting? A 6/6 for 4 that grants global trample is right up my alley with my more aggresive decks. Not to mention her mana sink ability that feels a little overcosted for what it does but to be fair its not a once per turn limit. Turning her into a creature wont he hard seeing as green is the best color (second to white) that has more mana symbols per spell ratio.

Her bow is a completely different story. All creatures you control have deathtouch? Wizards are you kidding me? Thats a ridiculous ability just to have for three mana, not including the wide range of abilities to choose from for 1G making this bow and arrow something Hawkeye would use.

VJ's Ranks

5. Heliod, God of the Sun
Flavor-wise, I like this card. Pumping out weenies and making them Vigilant is a trademark of white mana.

Unfortunately, He's just not that amazing or innovative. "Let's put Serra's Blessing on a 5/6 that makes overpriced 2/1s" is no way to make a Legendary creature.

4. Erebos, God of the Dead

I see what they did here. Put Greed on a creature. But 2 mana and 2 life is too much for just one more card in your hand.

I'd think the dead of Theros would be a bit more generous.

3. Purphoros, God of the Forge

Although I don't use burn very often, I like the direction this card is taking. It's almost like Warstorm Surge on a creature.

2. Nylea, God(dess) of the Hunt



Trample is good, as is +2/+2 buffs. It's almost a one card combo, but the creature buff ability is way too expensive. Still, she's a 6/6 Primal Rage and that is both a sign of good flavor and good power.

1. Thassa, God(dess) of the Sea

I like to scry, and I'm infinitely pleased to see it making a comeback in Theros. Although Scry 1 isn't much, it's a glimpse into the future or one less card you have to draw to get out your win con. I've always enjoyed deck manipulation. Non-cheating cheating basically. Unblockability is also fun to play with.

UL's Ranks
Much of the appeal of Theros for me so far is the artwork. As I get further into my Magic playing habits, I find that this particular part of the card aesthetic is becoming much more important to me- especially as I get better as a player and cards, like the Gods, creep in power.

My ranks are going to be much more influenced by this, though I do plan on trying to get copies and play all of them.

5. Heliod, God of the Sun

Perhaps Heliod is gonna be the low man on the totem pole for many people, but he's really not functionally as bad to me as Nylea. GG will tell you Vigilance is a last minute throw on ability, and maybe he's right. I'm not sure, but I find that it's relevant in most of the time. I like it when I get to keep up my defenses.

Spitting out babies seems really good here, and even though it's a little costly, people with Serra's Sanctum will be able to add some good value here.

But that sounds like I like this card. Though the sparkly nonsense almost gets there, like the rest of this artwork, it doesn't go the distance for me. I don't like how we can see Nyx in his body. I don't like the way the light reflects in the sky, giving him this hazyness over his face, and the same goes for his trusty spear and his peasant brown-ish robes.

I just do not like them "Sam I Am." I would not like them in Japan. I would not like them with a can of SPAM.

DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ABOUT NO GREEN EGGS AND HAM!

Also, is that a halo on his head? Cause it looks like bull horns, like for a bull that has calcium deficiency.

In the words of my life coach and cinematic mentor, The Dude, "This Artwork will not stand, man." It's so unappealing that I might not even play it, if it weren't for his meddling abilities.

4. Thassa, God(dess) of the Sea

Milotic, for you Trainers who hung up
your Poke Balls after Gold and Silver

For a God of the Sea, we really don't see the sea in her art much, do we? I'm not much a fan of that or her coloring in this art, mostly because she looks like the Pokemon Milotic with a face. Still, I liked Milotic, and I do think I can deal with my grievances because her abilities are sweet. There's no law against playing cards with bad art.

3. Erebos, God of the Dead

Erebos gets the nod here because he has the best use of his sparklies. The way the background matches the enchantment border really helps to stretch the perception of what the card looks like. If you've seen some of my proxies, I'm kind of a fan of stretching and re-shaping that aesthetic.

In terms of functionality, GG sort of changed my perspective on this card. I mean, I knew shutting down life gain and drawing cards was good; Being a 5/7 though really helps out his case though. In the color pie, Black gets a lot of B's in its casting cost, which was originally supposed to help balance its power. I can't see that being the case for much longer.


2. Purphoros, God of the Forge

Total surprise that I'm putting this one at Number Two, but it's well deserved. The gold and smoke over top of the mountain give him this really great regal look, and I really dig his abilities. Great design for a red card, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk about it. This could make for a few great red token combos with Hostility, specifically.

1. Nylea, God(dess) of the Hunt

Fell in love with the art when they spoiled it at Comic-Con, and it's still my favorite. I also love me a good warrior woman. I find her abilities somewhat redundant, but she's probably going to be the most "active" as a creature. I'm not sure where that leaves her, but I like this card, even if it is a little underpowered comparatively.


Anywho, get excited folks. There's much more Theros to talk about in the next few weeks.

Be sure to check those out. I have a feeling this set is going to change Commander quite a bit.

So pull out your old Led Zeppelin tracks and start driving your ships to new lands and banging your Hammer of the Gods-

The Chamber of Busted-ness has been opened.

Release the Kraken.
-UL and the TGZ Heroes

UL's Card Corner: Teferi's Puzzle Box

Happy Thor's Day Zoners!

Sorry for the late post today. Keepin' pretty busy, so I gotta make this one short.

We're also a little shorthanded at TGZ. JC's off planeswalking in the real for a little while, so I'm gonna go back to my roots and resume Card Corner duties for at least today with a new fave.

Back in the days when I built terrible decks, I hated Teferi's Puzzle Box. The first time I played against it, the thing wrecked the table and extended our game about 5 turns as we had little cards to draw and not a whole lot of answers for it.

Here in 2013 though, life's good with Teferi's ol' Rubik's Cube. It's become a card that's been getting some play in my Lin Sivvi deck and a few other decks in my metagame.

One of the Box's best qualities is the ability to add pressure to decks that have to hold spells. I'm not sure most Control Decks like this card. Mono Blue has a hard time interacting with it once it hits play, and although they get to draw cards, it could also mean tucking relevant spells away to get something less optimal, making this obviously not good.

Decks with Toolbox power like Lin Sivvi, Zur, Niv-Mizzet (either), and Captain Sisay really don't mind tucking irrelevant cards now for extra draw power. Seeing cards is more important for these decks to get online. The Firemind Niv Combo decks get a lot of value out of the draw because it combos with damage, which is great too.

Having more card draw access does make the Box stronger. Land Tax or Endless Horizons with Puzzle Box are pretty gross together. Filtering out land to get more spells really helps too.

Anyway, that's all I got. Be sure to tune into Saturday's episode of The Stack as we begin to dissect Theros.

Until then, eat your Wheaties, play Instants, and don't forget to bring a Towel.

-UL

Theros: Land of Heroes, Artifact Enchantments, and Ponies

Hey Planeswalkers,

I'm sure you guys are excited to see Theros come out later this month. Or maybe not. Either way, we've got some spoilers as they relate to Commander, the only format where you get to cast a cool dude even after he's been killed multiple times.

Today, I'm only going to be focusing on some of the big changes in rules and cards that I find particularly notable (in a good or bad way).

The Heroic Mechanic

So, "Heroic" is another block specific mechanic that is supposed to invoke images of Odysseus or Theseus or that guy who did that impossible feat in that one Greek myth. But how does it relate to EDH?

Well, for starters, the "Heroic" mechanic only triggers when the creature's controller casts a spell that targets it. So it seems like if you really want a "Heroic" deck, you'll have to load up on instant speed creature buffs, protectants, and anything that can target your creature. Which at that point, I'd say lose the Heroic mechanic if you're already giving one creature Giant Growth, Might of Oaks, Hunter's Insight, Run Wild, etc. Could Wizards be getting more convoluted as they try to invent fun new mechanics?

I guess we'll have to look at some "Heroic" creatures before calling judgment. Let's start with this cute Quasi-Greek couple, Anax and Cymede.

Now, their ability is pretty darn good if you ask me. Definitely worth wasting a spell on. It could even be a great general. First Strike and Vigilance seals the deal on these guys. This is both a flavorful card and an effective one.

But you do have to have spells on hand to make the best use of Anax and Cymede, or any other heroic creature. Considering what A & C does in particular though, you'll most likely be using a lot of instant speed buffs/protections like Barreling Attack or Bathe in Light.

I feel this card will play in well with mechanics like Battalion from RTR or Battle Cry from Mirrodin Besieged, simply because all three of these play off having a nice little army of 1/1s or 2/2s.

Weenie/token deck builds will probably also be a feature in decks built around Anax and Cymede. Few things are scarier than twelve 3/3 trample creature tokens charging at you.

In the other couple heroic cards I saw, you can get a 1/1 soldier (good for token decks, but I couldn't find a good quality pic) and this shameful creature they call the Setessan Hero. More like a Setessan Zero.

Why do I say it's a Zero? Start with the creature itself. A 5-drop 4/5: good for most creatures, but I'd expect a bit more generosity from green.

Secondly, you'd have to spend mana on spell triggers for her heroic, which targets mana, which leaves you with less mana to use as attackers or defenders. Seems counter-intuitive to me. You're better off using Animate Land or Vivify, cards that get right to the point rather than having to target a creature in order to target another target. Kamahl is the original land creature-making creature, and he would certainly disapprove of this joke of a warrior.

Maybe if "Heroic" triggered on abilities that target the creature, I'd be a bit more pleased with it from a playability perspective. Otherwise, I just feel that this mechanic beats around the bush.

Until I see more heroes from Theros (slant rhymes, clever Wizards), they'll be an afterthought in my
books.

Except for you Bowie. You will always be in my forethoughts.

Card Type Shakeup

I'm still wondering why it must be both an artifact and an enchantment. Maybe normal enchantments can't be tapped. Maybe it has something to do with an artifact/enchantment-based mechanic that will be utilized in the other two sets of Theros block. Maybe it will make it easier for red decks to destroy or blue decks to take control of.

Regardless, the Bow seems pretty good for a commander like Trostani or Kamahl. It's built for aggression and covers some of what green decks need: flying protection, life gain, and graveyard retrieval. Not to forget Graft/Evolve mechanics working in conjunction with the first option. Put this next to your Fathom Mage and draw like crazy.

A green artifact is a little hard to comprehend though. Isn't green the color to usually destroy artifacts? I mean I've seen plenty of artifacts in green decks, but never an artifact that carries a green identity (the artifact creatures from the Scars of Mirrodin block don't count).

There are also a bunch of enchantment creatures, but we'll get to that with next week's spoilers.

And finally, we have this lovely gem to the right. That's right, it's a Pegasus, not the first of its kind either. But for two mana, you get a better version of that terrible Chasm Drake from M12. This card will make an Mikaeus deck or any white weenie/human token deck many times more awesome (combo with Anax and Cymede???).

Innistrad block was chock full of human creatures that would love to get a ride on this pony (this is not meant to be sexual in any way, stop giggling). This is to human creatures as War Falcon is to Knights/soldiers. As with the heroic Anax and Cymede, I see this card being paired with Battle Cry in a weenie deck. It just makes too much sense.

Plus it's a Pegasus!

Fluttershy approves this card for Commander.

Until next time, stay classy Planeswalkers.

-VJ

The Stack #26- Sometimes There's Flavor

Hey there Zoners!

Not every card in the Multiverse needs to have good flavor, but it's always better when it does.

Today, we're going to salute a little bit of both. The gang and I have quite a few flavor points to talk about as we inch closer to the essence of flavor on this week's Stack.

Here goes nothing.

THIS IS THE STACK!

VENSER'S JOURNALIST'S PICK

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
While not the best in flavor, this Zenith I think has high marks for summing up the essence of Blue mana. It's an instant for one, which means it can be played in response to something (like foiling somebody's Mirror-Mad/Laboratory Manic combo). I like the words "Target player" because it gives this card more freedom than Mind Spring (a good blue card nonetheless). Drawing cards is always helpful in blue decks, something I know I've mentioned multiple times.

I really feel that this is such a great blue card though. It can be the basis for a combo (imagine a lot of mana and a Psychosis Crawler on your battlefield) or it can break a combo, in my experience, the aforementioned self-mill combo. The card is utilitarian. It is not a win-con by itself, yet can bring you just the right cards you need. Perhaps it is pricey, but Stormtide Leviathan (another well-flavored card) is definitely not cheap either. Blue is about being patient, planning ahead. What better way to plan a takeover than by sticking seven fresh cards in your hand?

Johnny Confidant- THUMBS DOWN
It's Funny, You like a card for what it does then upon review you find that in regards to flavor it's a swinging a huge miss. GG made a solid point about how a blue sun wouldn't rain down the cards, but if cards are to the library and the library is to your mind, then the Blue sun must radiate some kind of brainwave enhancer. As for the White and Green sun, you're on your own for that relation.
 

Grandpa Growth- THUMBS DOWN
I am going to swing it like this: Good flavor gets the thumbs up. Bad flavor will receive no such honor. This card has no flavor. When the blue sun of Mirrodin reaches its highest point in the sky...you get to draw cards? Oh, but then you forget about it and it gets filed back in your library with the other stuff you don't have time to think about right now. This is THE recipe for bad flavor. Take a flavor concept and force-fit it onto an established mechanical concept. Werewolves transform. Makes sense. Drawing cards was already a concept within the flavor AND mechanics of the game. Now, we are going to overwrite player expectations by dramatically altering what drawing cards means in the 'story' of the game. Unless I am meant to believe that staring at the sun gives me tons of great ideas, then this is a flavor fail. Also: kids, don't stare at the sun. It is really, really bad for your eyes...like, so bad.

Uncle Landdrops- FLAVOR THUMBS DOWN
I really like this card. I play it quite a bit because of the reasons VJ mentions. It works, I just agree with GG- it just doesn't have flavor. It's part of a cycle of cards from the Scars block that are just supposed to function as a representation of the power of each of Mirrodin's Suns. If Mirrodin were real, it's just hard for me to believe that one of its suns would be responsible for a spike in the 2/2 cat population and cards would be "falling from the sky."  Now, Red Sun's Zenith... I could actually believe that a Red Sun would get super-hot at its highest point and kill something. If I knew very little about Magic though, and someone asked me what I thought Blue Sun's did, I'd have no idea.

GG's Unsubstantiated explanation of White Sun's Zenith: The Leonin prides have a communal festival that brings them all to Taj-Nar on the longest (with respect to the white sun) day of the year, giving you a few new litters of cats. Why this is an instant I don't know. It would obviously be on the calendar far in advance.
 
GRANDPA GROWTH'S PICK

Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
Not a stellar card. It's actually a sub-marine card if you'll excuse the pun. I could do this all day. I could also talk about flavor and how generally awful it is all day. This is just fine flavor-wise. Wizards has been making progress towards a more top-down approach to card design that has resulted in cards with flavor that is easier to digest (I am a horrible person, I know this). My bone is with Islandwalk. Whales, not even big ones, can cross over islands. What makes this guy unblockable even to other see creatures? What happens when one of these swims by a Tidal Kraken or an Inkwell Leviathan? Does their collective water displacement not interfere at all? Final thought, this creature reminds me of a song...a story really.

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS (AND PERISCOPE) UP
This whale is pretty darn good if I do say so (and I do). Islandwalk is a good choice for flavor because, like UL mentioned below, it's more about the water surrounding the island less than the actual island. As far as other sea creatures not being able to block it, you'll have to bring that up with Wizards. Maybe in M15 they'll implement a rule that will make Islandwalk more like blue Fear.

What really matters about the Colossal is that it eats things! Look out Pinocchio and Geppetto!

Johnny Confidant- not available for comment

Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
I love this card. Everyone knows how much I love it. As far as Islandwalk goes, I tend to think less and less that Wizards uses the word Island as an actual Island. More and more it has become about being the Ocean, and if that's the case, there is no flavor problem. 

JOHNNY CONFIDANT'S PICK

Johnny Confidant-  THUMBS UP
My Pauper Gruul loves this little guy. For two he ramps and pings which is the main theme of my deck. Zur-Taa Druid is an excellent flavor mix of both Red and Green without the Haste I'd like, but then he'd probably be an uncommon.

Flavor aside this guy has very niche placement in deckbuilding. Edh would rather run Birds of paradise than a "poke per mana" dork. Although I'll say that Budget 60, pauper, and Peasant do enjoy this little guy.


Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS DOWN
This is a cool card, but I don't see how this has flavor. Not every druid is supposed to make mana. Also, Gruul cards are more concerned with combat damage.

Grandpa Growth - THUMBS DOWN
I have a hard time believing that any creature would really be able to damage a planeswalker. I dig the card and the design style of stapling two sweet cards like Fireslinger and Llanowar Elves, but we are talking about immortal, multidimensional, all-powerful wizards here. It would make more sense in a game like Hearthstone, where the heroes are still mortal beings occupying a single world; able to attack and interact with creatures directly. Even when planeswalkers fight each other they don't really die all that often.


Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
So he's a druid that taps for mana. Makes sense. He's also of the Gruul Clan, so he deals damage whenever he taps for mana. Also makes sense. His flavor is mechanically great;
the flavor text, not so much.

UNCLE LANDDROPS' PICK 

Uncle Landdrops-  THUMBS UP
This card really has your simple Giant Spider-level of flavor for a Magic card, of which I'm a big fan. KISS isn't just four Jewish guys from the Bronx who like to put on face paint, play rock music, and sell every kind of product they can with their name on it to make money. Though they've stolen the ultimate business acronym and life credo, "Keep It Simple, Stupid," it fortunately doesn't make the phrase any less true.

Thoughtseize is and has been a pretty big card along competitive decks ever since its first printing in Lorwyn and it's not just because it does exactly what it says it does. It's because what it says it does is GREAT. Thank the sweet gods we got a reprint too- because we're going to need it to combat the amalgam of other strange multi-card-type nonsense in this new set. I can't wait to get myself a copy.


Johnny Confidant- THUMBS UP (For Flavor)
Turn one Swamp -> Thoughtseize is a strong strategy to both see what your opponent's got planned and shut down their current game plan. While this is strong in Modern, 40-50 dollars is too much for a Duress or Despise without limitations and for someone who plays Multiplayer Edh, I'd rather buy 40 copies of Syphon Mind or Unnerve, but that's just my preference.

If I pull one from my Theros Fat Pack though, I'll try it out.

Grandpa Growth - THUMBS UP
I am like 70% on board with the flavor of this card. The fey come in the night to steal your dreams. Dreams have been used as a flavor concept for drawing cards on several previous occasions and nightmares have been used to represent discarding them so I am willing to allow the stretching of this definition to Inception/Extraction processes. The only part I don't understand is the life payment. Does the Clique charge a fee of blood for this kind of work? Does Oona have a tax on the dream trade?

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
Power at all costs, say the Black-mana players. Fortunately, 2 life isn't too high a price to pay. "It's cheap, but it's not free," Donald Fagen of Steely Dan once said, but I think he was referring to something that wasn't Magic. Anyway, this is a solid flavor card; but, functional as both a turn one slap to the face or a late game win-con remover. Many cards like this exist, but this one stands above Duress or Despise in my books.

Hope you guys are keeping up with the Theros Spoilers. Now that a big amount of the first set has been spoiled, look for us to start sharing our thoughts over the next week or so.

Until then, do all that you can to keep the gods happy. The last thing you'd want is for Liam Neeson to release another Kraken. Or call you on the phone with a death threat.

-UL and the TGZ Staff

(Bringin' It) Back From The Brink #1: Spellshapers

Happy Thor's Day Zoners!

JC's off this week, so I thought I'd kick off a new-but-not segment here on TGZ called Bringin' It Back From The Brink.

Mostly, we're going to be doing reviews on card cycles that are out of Standard and have probably been so for a long time.

The idea is that maybe you'll find some cool new cards to add to pre-existing decks or to build around in new decks. So I won't be doing a whole lot of grading, per se. I will be ranking them though.

Today we've got the Legendary Spellshapers from Prophecy on the docket. So let's get started.

GREEL, MIND RAKER

We'll start off with my favorite.

Greel's ability is probably the strongest in the cycle, even without looking at color identity. Mind Twist is one of Grandpa's favorite cards, and there's a reason it's been banned in French Duel Commander rules. On the play and with even minimal acceleration, Greel creates a legitimate threat that your opponent(s) will have to deal with. It's a lot of pressure, especially because there aren't a lot of aggro decks that can effectively get rid of their hand before he takes it away.

In this way, your own discard is a small price to pay, regardless of what you're throwing away. Having to pitch two cards to force your opponent to pitch 4 isn't great, but it's only one card more than typical Mind Twist.

And this is all without even the simplest design strategy. With access to removal and Reanimate, there's plenty of card advantage to be had by pitching big, over-costed threats and cheating them into play.

Maindeck, I could see this card having value too. There is a strict value assessment we make when we choose a Commander and taking that away makes this card pretty good too.

MAGETA THE LION

Going right down the line, Mageta is the second most powerful, but there's a lot less freedom in design.

Greel has a lot of space for threat choices and decent access to card advantage.

With Mageta, and by extension, the rest of the spellshapers on the list, there's significantly less redundancy, or really even reasonably playable cards.

As a Commander, the deck is doable though it'll probably be fairly expensive. Big playable cards like Endless Horizons and Land Tax provide enough land to ensure that there is a Wrath every turn, while a Crucible and Sun Titan will need to be there to eke out extra card advantage.

Therein lies the problem though. Mageta's ultimate reliance on typical "GoodStuff" does work to balance the power out. Still, it really doesn't do much to win this way. This deck will still need win conditions, and if Mageta is also the win condition, that feels like a little too much responsibility.

JOLRAEL, EMPRESS OF BEASTS

This is probably my favorite artwork of the cycle. Very regal.

Jolrael appeals to me as a Commander because she's an offensive force and a serious rattlesnake card to control players who like to Wrath.

Green supports her effect pretty well with its monopoly on ramp, but it comes at a hefty price. Pitching cards is a lot higher of a risk in these colors because there's essentially zero value to be had.

Still, if you like to be the Overrun guy, this is a cool deck. It's unique among Green decks because most builds, like Azusa, want to ramp and play dudes. In this one, you get to focus on ramp and  noncreature permanents like Akroma's Memorial that help to pump the squad.

Honestly, I like this one a little bit better than Mageta, but all it takes is Oblivion Stones to shut it down.

Alexi, Zephyr Mage

We're now in the realm of the not-quite-useful ones.

There are way better options in blue, and I don't see the appeal.

Alexi's a lot worse than cards that do what she does and so spellshaping with her feels basically useless.

I'm sure that there are good Blue decks that could win without a Commander. That's where I'd play this.

I think you guys know me well enough. I like bouncing stuff. Generally, it's pretty good, but if I have to discard in a blue deck, I'd rather be Looting.

LATULLA, KELDON OVERSEER

I'm not sure Latulla's actually worse than Alexi, mostly because Latulla can actually do some damage. Still, both have a lot of trouble finding value in their own colors.

Latulla's not realistic. The lengths that someone has to go to in order to develop synergies and get combos off look like way too much work when there's better options for Burn-style decks.

I see a lot of wasted turns trying to get combos off. Furthermore, actually netting additional cards in red is so hard I could see Latulla only being activated once or twice before you're forced into top deck mode.

Overall, I just find HH to be better. The lists will be fairly identical- Illusionist's Bracers, Basilisk Collar, and other damage doublers, so why not just play the better card?

Overall, this cycle is pretty neat and relatively underplayed. I'd love to see more Mageta and Jolrael decks. More Spellshaping would be great to see in general.

Till then, Take it Sleazy. And Enjoy Those Theros Spoilers.

-UL