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By: ArchGenius, Marcus Rehnberg
Jul 22 2010 2:33am
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So, it's time to say goodbye to Magic 2010 and to say hello to Magic 2011.  I know I'm not the only one who liked Magic 2010, as it represented the first time the core set had new cards and was designed to be a challenging and engaging limited environment.  In a way I'm sorry to see it go, but hopefully Magic 2011 will live up to the legacy and become an even better core set in terms of drafts and sealed deck tournaments. 

It may seem crazy to compare the two sets.  After all, over half of the cards are different.  How similar can Magic 2010 be to Magic 2011?  If you look closer, you'll see that a lot of the new cards are very similar to the old cards.  Many of the new 2011 creatures are very simple tweaks on the old 2010 creatures and the same applies to many of the spells.  Therefore when learning about the Magic 2011 limited environment, we don't have to start from scratch, we can simply shift our knowledge of Magic 2010. 

First, what do we remember about Magic 2010?  What were good cards and good strategies?  What were the mediocre good cards and strategies?

1. Walls, stalls, and overwhelming attacks.

Overrun and Sleep stole a lot of games.  It was actually pretty easy to clog up the battlefield with defensive creatures and wait until you got an Overrun or a Sleep and finish your opponent off.  This meant that creatures that could create or break a stalemate were at a premium.

Giant Spider Deadly Recluse Overrun

2. Red had everything but it wasn't all that deep.

Everyone was looking to splash red for Lightning Bolt or Fireball.  Red wasn't very deep, so you never really wanted to dive into red unless you got some really good uncommons or rares like Dragon Whelp, Goblin Artillery, or Earthquake.

Fireball Lightning Bolt Dragon Whelp

3. Black was a pretty good controlling color.

Black had a treasure trove of removal and some very good defensive regenerators, but it lacked worthwhile creatures unless you were heavily into black.  Therefore it was usually a good plan to either try for monoblack or group your black removal with green's monsters. 

Doom Blade Wall of Bone Tendrils of Corruption

4. Lots of unplayable cards or skill testers. 

In some drafts it is very hard to find 23 playable cards in your colors.  Alara block drafters were spoiled with all those high quality cards, because in Magic 2010 the worthless cards are back in bigger numbers.  This meant that it is pretty dangerous to go switching colors mid-draft at the drop of a mid-level removal spell.

Jump Glorious Charge Kindled Fury

5. Blue had some great tempo cards

Air Elemental Ice Cage Sleep

Ice cage and Illusionary Servant added an interesting dynamic to the game.  In certain match-ups these cards were amazing, and in other match-ups they were terrible and you wanted nothing more than to sideboard them out of your deck.  This type of hard to evaluate cards make for a very interesting draft. 

6. White was all about Blinding Mage.

Tappers have always been good, but in Magic 2010, Blinding Mage was amazing. Not only does it combine well with a lot of removal spells such as Entangling Vines and Assassinate but it is a removal effect that you can constantly shift to your opponent's best target.

Blinding Mage Veteran Swordsmith Serra Angel

So, with the Magic 2010 refresher out of the way, it's time to start tackling the new format. Let's look at what's out, what's in, and what's crazy...

 

Artifacts - Uncommon
2010 2011
Angel's Feather Artifact Angel's Feather Artifact
Demon's Horn Artifact Crystal Ball Artifact
Dragon's Claw Artifact Demon's Horn Artifact
Kraken's Eye Artifact Dragon's Claw Artifact
Rod of Ruin Artifact Elixir of Immortality Artifact
Spellbook Artifact Kraken's Eye Artifact
Wurm's Tooth Artifact Sorcerer's Strongbox Artifact
Gorgon Flail Artifact - Equipment Voltaic Key Artifact
Whispersilk Cloak Artifact - Equipment Wurm's Tooth Artifact
Ornithopter Artifact Creature - Thopter 0/2 Warlord's Axe Artifact - Equipment
    Whispersilk Cloak Artifact - Equipment
    Gargoyle Sentinel Artifact Creature - Gargoyle 3/3
    Stone Golem Artifact Creature - Golem 4/4
    Juggernaut Artifact Creature - Juggernaut 5/3
    Ornithopter Artifact Creature - Thopter 0/2

Rod of Ruin is finally out of the core set.  It was slow, clunky, and often not very useful, but it did have a role.  Creatures with 1 toughness are now counting their blessings. Sparkmage Apprentice got angry and left the party so that also adds to this situation, and boosts Prodigal Pyromancer's value.  However the pyromancer's favorite hat, Gorgon Flail, is now out of fashion, and so Prodigal Pyromancer is now crying alone at the party. 

There's never been a better time to be stone cold and heartless. Gargoyle SentinelStone Golem, and Juggernaut at uncommon are the hired muscle that every color is going to have on their shopping list.  These guys will definitely give everybody's sealed deck pool a boost.  And it's about time, because Naturalize is tired of sitting out in the sideboard.

Overall you can already see how M2011 is a faster format than M2010.  Powerful artifact creatures will run rampant in the suburbs and the relatively defensive Gorgon Flail is replaced with the offensive Warlord's Axe.  Yes, I realize that Gorgon Flail can be used offensively, but it doesn't add much power to a creature and it makes any creature into an ideal blocker

Artifacts - Rare/MYTHIC
2010 2011
Platinum Angel Artifact Creature - Angel 4/4 Platinum Angel Artifact Creature - Angel 4/4
Darksteel Colossus Artifact Creature - Golem 11/11 Brittle Effigy Artifact
Coat of Arms Artifact Jinxed Idol Artifact
Howling Mine Artifact Temple Bell Artifact
Mirror of Fate Artifact Sword of Vengeance Artifact - Equipment
Pithing Needle Artifact Steel Overseer Artifact Creature - Construct 1/1
Magebane Armor Artifact - Equipment Triskelion Artifact Creature - Construct 1/1

Platinum Angel sticks around to steals games, and she will continue to combo nicely with Whispersilk Cloak if you can get both of them going.  While constructed may dislike losing Pithing Needle, it had little play in M2010 due to the fact that it is guaranteed to start out in your sideboard no matter what format you're playing. 

Did anyone ever play Mirror of Fate I really think Mirror of Fate's flavor text should be changed to "You lost the lottery.  I'm sorry I'm not a Baneslayer. Please try again."  Can you tell I'm happy that it's gone, and replaced with artifacts that actually do something mildly constructive in limited and possibly constructed.

Steel Overseer and Triskelion are great limited cards and seem to be hinting at things to come with (Scars of Mirrodin). Or they could be some kind of red herring used to trick us all into thinking that the return to Mirrodin will be another artifact set.  For all we know Mirrodin could have done a Pinocchio and is now a real plane.  It is Magic after-all.... 

Land
2010 2011
Terramorphic Expanse Common Terramorphic Expanse Common
Dragonskull Summit Rare Dragonskull Summit Rare
Drowned Catacomb Rare Drowned Catacomb Rare
Gargoyle Castle Rare Glacial Fortress Rare
Glacial Fortress Rare Mystifying Maze Rare
Rootbound Crag Rare Rootbound Crag Rare
Sunpetal Grove Rare Sunpetal Grove Rare

So, after a bunch of speculation about lands, all that changes is one lousy card.  We lose Gargoyle Castle and gain Mystifying Maze.  That really won't affect limited all that much.  Both of these lands are top picks and any ability to do double duty with lands is greatly appreciated. 

Mystifying Maze is great at stopping tokens.  I don't think anyone else has really commented on it. Of course if you're on the short end of a Grave Titan the last thing you want to spend 5 mana on is a way to kill one of your opponent's army of attacking token zombies.

 

Black - Commons
2010 2011
Kelinore Bat Creature - Bat 2/1 Nether Horror Creature - Horror 4/2
Acolyte of Xathrid Creature - Human Cleric 0/1 Nightwing Shade Creature - Shade 2/2
Dread Warlock Creature - Human Wizard 2/2 Liliana's Specter Creature - Specter 2/1
Looming Shade Creature - Shade 1/1 Bloodthrone Vampire Creature - Vampire 1/1
Drudge Skeletons Creature - Skeleton 1/1 Child of Night Creature - Vampire 2/1
Child of Night Creature - Vampire 2/1 Barony Vampire Creature - Vampire 3/2
Vampire Aristocrat Creature - Vampire Rogue 2/2 Viscera Seer Creature - Vampire Wizard 1/1
Gravedigger Creature - Zombie 2/2 Bog Raiders Creature - Zombie 2/2
Warpath Ghoul Creature - Zombie 3/2 Gravedigger Creature - Zombie 2/2
Zombie Goliath Creature - Zombie Giant 4/3 Rotting Legion Creature - Zombie 4/5
Soul Bleed Enchantment - Aura Quag Sickness Enchantment - Aura
Unholy Strength Enchantment - Aura Unholy Strength Enchantment - Aura
Weakness Enchantment - Aura Doom Blade Instant
Doom Blade Instant Stabbing Pain Instant
Tendrils of Corruption Instant Assassinate Sorcery
Assassinate Sorcery Blood Tithe Sorcery
Disentomb Sorcery Disentomb Sorcery
Duress Sorcery Duress Sorcery
Mind Rot Sorcery Mind Rot Sorcery
Sign in Blood Sorcery Sign in Blood Sorcery

Most of the changes to the black commons are a wash, however, black gains (Lilliana's Specter) as a high draft pick and premium attacker.  Unfortunetly, it also loses big time in the trade between Dread Warlock and Bog Raiders The reason no one wants to join the dark side is because the in-fighting leads to a less than desirable retirement plan. 

Most of the other commons are either the same or have rough equivalents in Magic 2010.  Don't believe me?  Then here is the comparison. 

M2010 M2011 Category Verdict
Picture Cardname Picture Cardname    
Acolyte of Xathrid Acolyte of Xathrid Viscera Seer 1 Drop with a minor black ability Up 1
Dread Warlock Dread Warlock Bog Raiders Gray ogre with evasion Down 2
Kelinore Bat Kelinore Bat Liliana's Specter Small black flyer Up 3
Looming Shade Looming Shade   Nightwing Shade Shade, a creature that uses black to pump Equal
Soul Bleed Soul Bleed Blood Tithe A spell that causes your opponent to lose life Equal
Tendrils of Corruption Tendrils of Corruption Stabbing Pain Creature removal based on swamps you control Equal
Vampire Aristocrat Vampire Aristocrat Bloodthrone Vampire A creature with the ability to sacrifice other creatures for a power boost Down 2
Warpath Ghoul Warpath Ghoul Barony Vampire A vanilla 3/2 for 3 mana Equal
Weakness Weakness Stabbing Pain A cheap small creature removal that has some benefit on larger creatures Up 1
Zombie Goliath Zombie Goliath   Rotting Legion A big black attacker Up 2
Drudge Skeletons Drudge Skeletons   Nether Horror The leftovers - the drudge skeleton equivalent was moved to uncommon and a giant cockroach took its place. Equal
Total Up 3

 So, in my estimation, black does slightly better, but not enough to really change how you approached it in drafts.

Black - Uncommons
2010 2011
Black Knight Creature - Human Knight 2/2 Black Knight Creature - Human Knight 2/2
Relentless Rats Creature - Rat 2/2 Relentless Rats Creature - Rat 2/2
Wall of Bone Creature - Skeleton Wall 1/4 Reassembling Skeleton Creature - Skeleton Warrior
Howling Banshee Creature - Spirit 3/3 Howling Banshee Creature - Spirit 3/3
Bog Wraith Creature - Wraith 3/3 Liliana's Caress Enchantment
Megrim Enchantment Corrupt Sorcery
Consume Spirit Sorcery Deathmark Sorcery
Deathmark Sorcery Diabolic Tutor Sorcery
Diabolic Tutor Sorcery Rise from the Grave Sorcery
Rise from the Grave Sorcery    

With more artifacts in the set, all colors lose an uncommon.  Beyond that, black gains Corrupt over Consume Spirit and Reassembling Skeleton is about the closed black has to a defensive creature.  Black is no longer a defensive color.  Dark siders can no longer hide behind skeletons and bones. Wall of Bone  Of course I never really understood why a planeswalker would think it was a good idea to summon a bunch of bones to hang around at home with him.  Skeletons probably aren't that good for conversations and they don't pick up after themselves.

Black - Mythic/Rares
2010 2011
Xathrid Demon Creature - Demon 7/7 Demon of Death's Gate Creature - Demon 9/9
Vampire Nocturnus Creature - Vampire 3/3 Grave Titan Creature - Giant 6/6
Liliana Vess Planeswalker - Liliana 5 Liliana Vess Planeswalker - Liliana 5
Royal Assassin Creature - Human Assassin 1/1 Royal Assassin Creature - Human Assassin 1/1
Nightmare Creature - Nightmare Horse */* Nantuko Shade Creature - Insect Shade 2/1
Hypnotic Specter Creature - Specter 2/2 Captivating Vampire Creature - Vampire 2/2
Cemetery Reaper Creature - Zombie 2/2 Phylactery Lich Creature - Zombie 5/5
Sanguine Bond Enchantment Dark Tutelage Enchantment
Underworld Dreams Enchantment Leyline of the Void Enchantment
Haunting Echoes Sorcery Necrotic Plague Enchantment - Aura
Mind Shatter Sorcery Haunting Echoes Sorcery

Grave Titan might possibly be the most broken creature ever printed in a core set.  At least with Baneslayer Angel you could at least use a number of removal spells on it.  Grave Titan avoids Doom Blade and leaves behind an army if you manage to kill it.  If you open one, you are black.  Other than that, there aren't too many rares that would force you into black.

There are a few other interesting black rares that will rarely see play in limited games, but honestly, it's still all about the Grave Titan.

 

 

Blue - Commons
2010 2011
Sage Owl Creature - Bird 1/1 Augury Owl Creature - Bird 1/1
Wind Drake Creature - Drake 2/2 Armored Cancrix Creature - Crab 2/5
Snapping Drake Creature - Drake 3/2 Azure Drake Creature - Drake 2/4
Zephyr Sprite Creature - Faerie 1/1 Cloud Elemental Creature - Elemental 2/3
Illusionary Servant Creature - Illusion 3/4 (Æther Adept) Creature - Human Wizard 2/2
Coral Merfolk Creature - Merfolk 2/1 Phantom Beast Creature - Illusion Beast 4/5
Merfolk Looter Creature - Merfolk Rogue 1/1 Merfolk Spy Creature - Merfolk Rogue 1/1
Serpent of the Endless Sea Creature - Serpent */* Scroll Thief Creature - Merfolk Rogue 1/3
Horned Turtle Creature - Turtle 1/4 Maritime Guard Creature - Merfolk Soldier 1/3
Convincing Mirage Enchantment - Aura Harbor Serpent Creature - Serpent 5/5
Ice Cage Enchantment - Aura Jace's Erasure Enchantment
Cancel Instant Ice Cage Enchantment - Aura
Disorient Instant Cancel Instant
Essence Scatter Instant Diminish Instant
Jump Instant Mana Leak Instant
Negate Instant Negate Instant
Unsummon Instant Unsummon Instant
Divination Sorcery Foresee Sorcery
Ponder Sorcery Preordain Sorcery
Tome Scour Sorcery Tome Scour Sorcery

Blue got its lunch money stolen a lot in Magic 2010.  However over the summer it has been working out and it's back for revenge.  Most of its creatures have been boosted, the card draw is better, and blue now has a flexible early game counterspell Mana Leak.  What more do you want?  A six-pack and Abs of steel? 

Once again most of the commons that were replaced have analog creatures and spells that fill the same role in Magic 2010.  The more things change, the more things remain the same.  Let's take a look at the changes made to the commons.

M2010 M2011 Category Verdict
Picture Cardname Picture Cardname    
 Sage Owl Sage Owl   Augury Owl Small flyer that looks at your library.  up 2
 Wind Drake Wind Drake   Cloud Elemental Small flyer up 1
 Snapping Drake Snapping Drake   Azure Drake Mid-sized flyer up 1
 Illusionary Servant Illusionary Servant   Phantom Beast Illusion that is destroyed when targetted down 1
 Merfolk Looter Merfolk Looter   Scroll Thief Conditional card draw creature down 1
 Coral Merfolk Coral Merfolk   Maritime Guard Small Generic Blue creature down 1
 Serpent of the Endless Sea Serpent of the Endless Sea   Harbor Serpent Sea Serpent, large creature connected to islands up 2
 Horned Turtle Horned Turtle   Armored Cancrix Small creature with large toughness equal
 Zephyr Sprite Zephyr Sprite   Merfolk Spy Small 1 drop with an ability down 1
 Divination Divination   Foresee Small Card Draw up 2
 Ponder Ponder   Preordain 1 Casting cost cantrip equal
 Essence Scatter Essence Scatter   Mana Leak Conditional counterspell up 3
 Disorient Disorient   Diminish Creature shrinker up 2
 Jump Jump   Jace's Erasure The left overs, flying flavor turned into milling effect. up 1
Total up 10

It's pretty much an upgrade all around for blue commons.  Blue is king and clearly the deepest color. It is sort of like black in Zendikar.  If the drafter next to you has an innate fear of the water and is passing it to you, snap it up. Otherwise the only problem with blue will be fighting other players for it.  I'm guessing sealed deck tournaments will be a sea of blue. 

Blue Uncommons
2010 2011
Air Elemental Creature - Elemental 4/4 Water Servant Creature - Elemental 3/4
Phantom Warrior Creature - Illusion Warrior 2/2 Air Servant Creature - Elemental 4/3
Alluring Siren Creature - Siren 1/1 Alluring Siren Creature - Siren 1/1
Wall of Frost Creature - Wall 0/7 Wall of Frost Creature - Wall 0/7
Levitation Enchantment Mind Control Enchantment - Aura
Telepathy Enchantment Flashfreeze Instant
Mind Control Enchantment - Aura Jace's Ingenuity Instant
Flashfreeze Instant Call to Mind Sorcery
Fabricate Sorcery Sleep Sorcery
Sleep Sorcery    

Air Servant, Water Servant, Mind Control, and Jace's Ingenuity are all amazing uncommons.  Which basically reinforces my central theme.  Blue is good.  Blue is very good indeed.  You know it's gone crazy when red loses Dragon Whelp and blue gains an uncommon that resembles Morphling.

Blue - Rare/Mythic
2010 2011
Sphinx Ambassador Creature - Sphinx 5/5 Frost Titan Creature - Giant 6/6
Jace Beleren Planeswalker - Jace 3 Jace Beleren Planeswalker - Jace 3
Time Warp Sorcery Time Reversal Sorcery
Djinn of Wishes Creature - Djinn 4/4 Stormtide Leviathan Creature - Leviathan 8/8
Merfolk Sovereign Creature - Merfolk 2/2 Merfolk Sovereign Creature - Merfolk 2/2
Clone Creature - Shapeshifter 0/0 Clone Creature - Shapeshifter 0/0
Hive Mind Enchantment Conundrum Sphinx Creature - Sphinx 4/4
Twincast Instant Leyline of Anticipation Enchantment
Mind Spring Sorcery Redirect Instant
Polymorph Sorcery Mass Polymorph Sorcery
Traumatize Sorcery Traumatize Sorcery

Frost Titan is much better in limited than contructed but it still doesn't hold a candle to Grave TitanConundrum Sphinx is huge and combo-rrific with any blue card that says "scry" on it.  Those two cards will push you into blue, but other than that there isn't a whole lot of reasons to pick up blue rares and mythics.  Stick with the commons and uncommons, they are amazing.

Green - Commons
2010 2011
Emerald Oryx Creature - Antelope 2/3 Greater Basilisk Creature - Basilisk 3/5
Runeclaw Bear Creature - Bear 2/2 Runeclaw Bear Creature - Bear 2/2
Mist Leopard Creature - Cat 3/2 Garruk's Companion Creature - Beast 3/2
Centaur Courser Creature - Centaur Warrior 3/3 Brindle Boar Creature - Boar 2/2
Bramble Creeper Creature - Elemental 0/3 Llanowar Elves Creature - Elf Druid 1/1
Llanowar Elves Creature - Elf Druid 1/1 Sylvan Ranger Creature - Elf Scout 1/1
Elvish Visionary Creature - Elf Shaman 1/1 Wall of Vines Creature - Plant Wall 0/3
Borderland Ranger Creature - Human Scout 2/2 Giant Spider Creature - Spider 2/4
Stampeding Rhino Creature - Rhino 4/4 Sacred Wolf Creature - Wolf 3/1
Deadly Recluse Creature - Spider 1/2 Spined Wurm Creature - Wurm 5/4
Giant Spider Creature - Spider 2/4 Yavimaya Wurm Creature - Wurm 6/4
Craw Wurm Creature - Wurm 6/4 Dryad's Favor Enchantment - Aura
Entangling Vines Enchantment - Aura Primal Cocoon Enchantment - Aura
Oakenform Enchantment - Aura Fog Instant
Fog Instant Giant Growth Instant
Giant Growth Instant Hornet Sting Instant
Naturalize Instant Naturalize Instant
Regenerate Instant Plummet Instant
Bountiful Harvest Sorcery Cultivate Sorcery
Rampant Growth Sorcery Hunters' Feast Sorcery

Green loses Deadly Recluse Oakenform and Entangling Vines without much in the way of replacements.  It's big creatures have been replaced by an army of wurms, and to top it off, Overrun was transformed into a rare with a different name and a more unpredictable nature.  There is no doubt about it, green has really let itself go.  Everybody may be talking about how great Fauna Shaman is but that does nothing to mitigate the fact that green's commons were hit with the ugly stick.  The only saving grace is that green got two great color fixers and it is now easier to splash colors with green.

So, whenever someone says they're playing green, ask them what other colors are they playing....  Green's commons changed more than the other colors, and that's not really a good thing.  Let's take a look at the depressing state of the changes made to green.

M2010 M2011 Category Verdict
Picture Cardname Picture Cardname    
 Deadly Recluse Deadly Recluse   Wall of Vines Small flyer blocker down 3
 Mist Leopard Mist Leopard   Sacred Wolf Untargetable creature up 1
 Emerald Oryx Emerald Oryx   Dryad's Favor Forestwalker down 1
 Centaur Courser Centaur Courser   Garruk's Companion Cheap efficient generic creature up 1
 Bramble Creeper Bramble Creeper   Greater Basilisk Unusual 5 drop. The Basilisk also matches up with Deadly Recluse up 2
 Elvish Visionary Elvish Visionary   Sylvan Ranger 2 Drop 1/1 with card advantage up 1
 Borderland Ranger Borderland Ranger   Sylvan Ranger Creature that searches for a land equal
 Stampeding Rhino Stampeding Rhino   Spined Wurm 5 Drop Aggressive Creature equal
 Craw Wurm Craw Wurm   Yavimaya Wurm Reasonably big 6 drop up 2
 Entangling Vines Entangling Vines   Plummet Limited creature removal down 1
 Oakenform Oakenform   Primal Cocoon Creature Booster enchantment down 3
 Regenerate Regenerate   N/A Second combat trick to Giant Growth N/A
 Bountiful Harvest Bountiful Harvest   Hunters' Feast Life Gain equal
 Rampant Growth Rampant Growth   Cultivate Land search up 2
 N/A N/A   Brindle Boar Life gain creature N/A
 N/A N/A   Hornet Sting Bee Sting effect N/A
total up 1

Doesn't Hornet Sting look really sad and pathetic next to Lightning Bolt.  It's like WotC is trying to tell us, we're sorry about Lotus Cobra and Vengevine, we promise to make green terrible for the next couple of sets.

Green - Uncommons
2010 2011
Enormous Baloth Creature - Beast 7/7 Garruk's Packleader Creature - Beast 4/4
Mold Adder Creature - Fungus Snake 1/1 Awakener Druid Creature - Human Druid 1/1
Awakener Druid Creature - Human Druid 1/1 Acidic Slime Creature - Ooze 2/2
Acidic Slime Creature - Ooze 2/2 Cudgel Troll Creature - Troll 4/3
Cudgel Troll Creature - Troll 4/3 Prized Unicorn Creature - Unicorn 2/2
Prized Unicorn Creature - Unicorn 2/2 Duskdale Wurm Creature - Wurm 7/7
Windstorm Instant Autumn's Veil Instant
Howl of the Night Pack Sorcery Back to Nature Instant
Nature's Spiral Sorcery Nature's Spiral Sorcery
Overrun Sorcery    

Giving Enormous Baloth trample and calling it a wurm does not make up for cancelling Overrun and Howl of the Night PackGarruk's Packleader is interesting, but if you're churning out a bunch of 3+/X creatures, do you really need the extra cards?  The packleader wears a t-shirt with slogan "I like to win more" on it. 

Green - Rare/Mythic
2010 2011
Master of the Wild Hunt Creature - Human Shaman 3/3 Gaea's Revenge Creature - Elemental 8/5
Protean Hydra Creature - Hydra 0/0 Primeval Titan Creature - Giant 6/6
Garruk Wildspeaker Planeswalker - Garruk 3 Garruk Wildspeaker Planeswalker - Garruk 3
Kalonian Behemoth Creature - Beast 9/9 Obstinate Baloth Creature - Beast 4/4
Birds of Paradise Creature - Bird 0/1 Birds of Paradise Creature - Bird 0/1
Elvish Archdruid Creature - Elf Druid 2/2 Elvish Archdruid Creature - Elf Druid 2/2
Elvish Piper Creature - Elf Shaman 1/1 Fauna Shaman Creature - Elf Shaman 2/2
Great Sable Stag Creature - Elk 3/3 Protean Hydra Creature - Hydra 0/0
Ant Queen Creature - Insect 5/5 Mitotic Slime Creature - Ooze 4/4
Lurking Predators Enchantment Leyline of Vitality Enchantment
Might of Oaks Instant Overwhelming Stampede Sorcery

I really like Mitotic Slime, however as long as white has a very big bag of tricks filled with effects that remove creatures without actually putting them in the graveyard such as Path to Exile Journey to Nowhere Pacifism etc, then any card that triggers on entering the graveyard will be next to useless.  Sometimes I think that if Mitotic Slime had an ability that put slimes into play when it was exiled instead of put into the graveyard, it would see more play.

Even in the rare department, green loses the biggest limited bombs it ever had.  Ant Queen and Master of the Wild Hunt have left the sinking ship that is green in the core set.  Bruce Banner has calmed down quite a bit in the last year, and now you might actually not mind him when he's angry.

 

Red - Commons
2010 2011
Lightning Elemental Creature - Elemental 4/1 Fiery Hellhound Creature - Elemental Hound 2/2
Fiery Hellhound Creature - Elemental Hound 2/2 Arc Runner Creature - Elemental Ox 5/1
Raging Goblin Creature - Goblin Berserker 1/1 Bloodcrazed Goblin Creature - Goblin Berserker 2/2
Goblin Piker Creature - Goblin Warrior 2/1 Goblin Tunneler Creature - Goblin Rogue 1/1
Jackal Familiar Creature - Hound 2/2 Goblin Balloon Brigade Creature - Goblin Warrior 1/1
Berserkers of Blood Ridge Creature - Human Berserker 4/4 Goblin Piker Creature - Goblin Warrior 2/1
Sparkmage Apprentice Creature - Human Wizard 1/1 Vulshok Berserker Creature - Human Berserker 3/2
Canyon Minotaur Creature - Minotaur Warrior 3/3 Berserkers of Blood Ridge Creature - Human Berserker 4/4
Viashino Spearhunter Creature - Viashino Warrior 2/1 Manic Vandal Creature - Human Warrior 2/2
Firebreathing Enchantment - Aura Canyon Minotaur Creature - Minotaur Warrior 3/3
Kindled Fury Instant Volcanic Strength Enchantment - Aura
Lightning Bolt Instant Chandra's Outrage Instant
Seismic Strike Instant Fling Instant
Shatter Instant Incite Instant
Trumpet Blast Instant Lightning Bolt Instant
Burning Inquiry Sorcery Pyretic Ritual Instant
Burst of Speed Sorcery Thunder Strike Instant
Lava Axe Sorcery Act of Treason Sorcery
Panic Attack Sorcery Demolish Sorcery
Yawning Fissure Sorcery Lava Axe Sorcery

Here is all you really needed to know about red in Magic 2010. Lightning Bolt Fireball.... end of story...  Yes there were a couple of other really good uncommons besides Fireball but seriously red had very little depth.  Well, now red has Chandra's Outrage and Act of Treason is now common, and most of the other commons have been upgraded a bit.  However there still isn't a whole lot more to see than Lightning Bolt and Fireball

Once more, let's look at the commons that were replaced.  With red it's all about going from terrible to slightly below average...

M2010 M2011 Category Verdict
Picture Cardname Picture Cardname    
 Lightning Elemental Lightning Elemental   Vulshok Berserker Mid sized Haster up 1
 Raging Goblin Raging Goblin   Goblin Balloon Brigade 1 Drop with an ability equal
 Jackal Familiar Jackal Familiar   Bloodcrazed Goblin 1 Drop 2/2 that can't always attack up 1
 Sparkmage Apprentice Sparkmage Apprentice   Goblin Tunneler 2 Drop 1/1 with an ability down 1
 Viashino Spearhunter Viashino Spearhunter   N/A First Striker N/A
 Firebreathing Firebreathing   Volcanic Strength Creature Power Booster up 2
 Kindled Fury Kindled Fury   Thunder Strike Instant that gives first strike up 1
 Seismic Strike Seismic Strike   Chandra's Outrage Secondary Burn spell to Lightning Bolt up 2
 Shatter Shatter   Manic Vandal Artifact removal up 2
 Trumpet Blast Trumpet Blast   Arc Runner Temporary damage booster equal
 Burning Inquiry Burning Inquiry   N/A reckless card draw N/A
 Burst of Speed Burst of Speed   Incite spell that causes an aggressive attack up 1
 Panic Attack Panic Attack   Act of Treason Spell that temporarily removes blockers up 1
 Yawning Fissure Yawning Fissure   Demolish land destruction up 1
  N/A   Pyretic Ritual ritual effect N/A
  N/A   Fling sacrifice a creature for damage up 1
total up 12

The upgrades on red cards are a bit deceptive.  We used to have a bunch of unplayable, cut them up and use the pictures for tokens, red commons.  Now we have a bunch of slightly below average, unexciting red commons.  Almost everything has gotten just a little bit better, but they still have a long ways to go to become great.

Red - Uncommons
2010 2011
Dragon Whelp Creature - Dragon 2/3 Chandra's Spitfire Creature - Elemental 1/3
Inferno Elemental Creature - Elemental 4/4 Fire Servant Creature - Elemental 4/3
Stone Giant Creature - Giant 3/4 Earth Servant Creature - Elemental 4/4
Goblin Artillery Creature - Goblin Warrior 1/3 Ember Hauler Creature - Goblin 2/2
Prodigal Pyromancer Creature - Human Wizard 1/1 Prodigal Pyromancer Creature - Human Wizard 1/1
Wall of Fire Creature - Wall 0/5 Shiv's Embrace Enchantment - Aura
Ignite Disorder Instant Combust Instant
Act of Treason Sorcery Fireball Sorcery
Fireball Sorcery Pyroclasm Sorcery
Pyroclasm Sorcery    

Losing Goblin Artillery hurts a lot.  Well, he hurt me a lot when I had him in 2010, but I miss now that he's gone.  Wow, that makes me sound really pathetic.... Anyway, red loses some good cards, and gains a couple of good cards.  Fire Servant is good, but really needs to be combined with burn spells to work effectively.  I wonder what spells he needs... Oh yes that's right... Even a year later, red is still all about Lightning Bolt and Fireball.

Red - rare/Mythic
2010 2011
Bogardan Hellkite Creature - Dragon 5/5 Inferno Titan Creature - Giant 6/6
Chandra Nalaar Planeswalker - Chandra 6 Chandra Nalaar Planeswalker - Chandra 6
Shivan Dragon Creature - Dragon 5/5 Cyclops Gladiator Creature - Cyclops Warrior 4/4
Capricious Efreet Creature - Efreet 6/4 Hoarding Dragon Creature - Dragon 4/4
Ball Lightning Creature - Elemental 6/1 Ancient Hellkite Creature - Dragon 6/6
Goblin Chieftain Creature - Goblin 2/2 Goblin Chieftain Creature - Goblin 2/2
Siege-Gang Commander Creature - Goblin 2/2 Magma Phoenix Creature - Phoenix 3/3
Magma Phoenix Creature - Phoenix 3/3 Leyline of Punishment Enchantment
Manabarbs Enchantment Wild Evocation Enchantment
Earthquake Sorcery Reverberate Instant
Warp World Sorcery Destructive Force Sorcery

The sky is falling.  We've lost Siege-Gang Commander, Earthquake, Manabarbs, and Ball Lightning whatever are we going to do now? AAAARRGGHHHH.. Can't take it....  ARGHHHH..... need to calm down a bit..... <chanting>  Lightning Bolt Fireball Lightning Bolt Fireball .... Okay I'm better now.  Red is losing a lot of constructed staples, and some of the best rares for pushing us into red are gone.  However we also pick up some nice broken cards as well.  Cyclops Gladiator can dominate games, especially if you've got one of the nice new red auras for him.  Ancient Hellkite and Hoarding Dragon are both very solid picks for red as well, and Destructive Force is certainly a powerful effect even if it isn't an earthquake.

 

White - Commons
2010 2011
Silvercoat Lion Creature - Cat 2/2 Squadron Hawk Creature - Bird 1/1
Siege Mastodon Creature - Elephant 3/5 Silvercoat Lion Creature - Cat 2/2
Griffin Sentinel Creature - Griffin 1/3 Siege Mastodon Creature - Elephant 3/5
Razorfoot Griffin Creature - Griffin 2/2 Wild Griffin Creature - Griffin 2/2
Soul Warden Creature - Human Cleric 1/1 Assault Griffin Creature - Griffin 3/2
Palace Guard Creature - Human Soldier 1/4 Tireless Missionaries Creature - Human Cleric 2/3
Veteran Armorsmith Creature - Human Soldier 2/3 Cloud Crusader Creature - Human Knight 2/3
Veteran Swordsmith Creature - Human Soldier 3/2 Infantry Veteran Creature - Human Soldier 1/1
Blinding Mage Creature - Human Wizard 1/2 Palace Guard Creature - Human Soldier 1/4
Stormfront Pegasus Creature - Pegasus 2/1 Blinding Mage Creature - Human Wizard 1/2
Wall of Faith Creature - Wall 0/5 Goldenglow Moth Creature - Insect 0/1
Holy Strength Enchantment - Aura Stormfront Pegasus Creature - Pegasus 2/1
Lifelink Enchantment - Aura Ajani's Mantra Enchantment
Pacifism Enchantment - Aura Holy Strength Enchantment - Aura
Angel's Mercy Instant Pacifism Enchantment - Aura
Divine Verdict Instant Inspired Charge Instant
Glorious Charge Instant Mighty Leap Instant
Safe Passage Instant Safe Passage Instant
Excommunicate Sorcery Excommunicate Sorcery
Solemn Offering Sorcery Solemn Offering Sorcery

So we no longer have soldiers acting like some kind of telepathic snake aliens with a stabbing spike Blade Sliver. Well, that's probably for the best.  Instead our soldier army has been reduced to Infantry VeteranMan, budget cuts hurt even in Dominaria.  So instead of paying for a standing army, white has decided to working with birds and griffins.  Why not?  They probably work for peanuts, or whatever it is that griffins eat. 

All right, let's take a deeper look at the common changes to the set.

M2010 M2011 Category Verdict
Picture Cardname Picture Cardname    
 Griffin Sentinel Griffin Sentinel   Wild Griffin Small flyer equal
 Razorfoot Griffin Razorfoot Griffin   Cloud Crusader Mid-sized flyer with first strike up 1
 Soul Warden Soul Warden   Goldenglow Moth 1 drop with life-gain ability down 2
 Veteran Armorsmith Veteran Armorsmith   Infantry Veteran Creature that the boosts abilities of other creatures down 1
 Veteran Swordsmith Veteran Swordsmith   Infantry Veteran Creature that the boosts abilities of other creatures down 1 
 Wall of Faith Wall of Faith   N/A Mid-sized wall N/A
 Lifelink Lifelink   Ajani's Mantra Continuous life-gain card equal
 Angel's Mercy Angel's Mercy   Tireless Missionaries Big one time life-gain card up 1
 Divine Verdict Divine Verdict   Mighty Leap Removal for a creature in combat up 1
 Glorious Charge Glorious Charge   Inspired Charge Creature boost for all creatures up 2
  N/A   Assault Griffin Mid-sized flyer   up 2
  N/A   Squadron Hawk Small flyer with card advantage up 1
total up 8

White makes some powerful gains in limited and now commands an air force that rivals blue.  Of course Blue has Air Servant which can really put a damper on anyone running flyers, so I'm not sure cutting the soldier budget was such a great idea.  All kidding aside, white didn't lose a whole lot, gains more evasion creatures and a decent flying giant growth.  It will continue to be a strong color choice.

White - Uncommons
2010 2011
Serra Angel Creature - Angel 4/4 Serra Angel Creature - Angel 4/4
Undead Slayer Creature - Human Cleric 2/2 Roc Egg Creature - Bird 0/3
White Knight Creature - Human Knight 2/2 Ajani's Pridemate Creature - Cat Soldier 2/2
Elite Vanguard Creature - Human Soldier 2/1 War Priest of Thune Creature - Human Cleric 2/2
Rhox Pikemaster Creature - Rhino Soldier 3/3 White Knight Creature - Human Knight 2/2
Armored Ascension Enchantment - Aura Elite Vanguard Creature - Human Soldier 2/1
Celestial Purge Instant Armored Ascension Enchantment - Aura
Harm's Way Instant Celestial Purge Instant
Righteousness Instant Condemn Instant
Tempest of Light Instant    

Rejoice, for Harm's Way is gone.  Say goodbye to one of the most difficult to play spells on Magic Online due to the templating.  When it first came out, you almost had to play it incorrectly a couple of times before you figured out how Magic Online interpreted it to work. 

Ajani's Pridemate is one of those cards that is going to lead people astray.  On the face of things, it looks very powerful, however the one card it combos with most effectively has been removed from the core set.  Just imagine the horrible thought of facing down a turn 1 Soul Warden followed by a turn 2 Ajani's Pridemate.  Soul Warden would have made Ajani's Pridemate a first pick.  Without the warden, we're left with a card that encourages you to play really really horrible cards like Angel's Feather and Ajani's Mantra.  At uncommon, it's difficult to get enough pridemates to make life gain cards good enough to be put in a deck, and without those life gain cards, the pridemate is nothing special.   

White - Rare/Mythic
2010 2011
Baneslayer Angel Creature - Angel 5/5 Baneslayer Angel Creature - Angel 5/5
Ajani Goldmane Planeswalker - Ajani 4 Sun Titan Creature - Giant 6/6
Guardian Seraph Creature - Angel 3/4 Ajani Goldmane Planeswalker - Ajani 4
Mesa Enchantress Creature - Human Druid 0/2 Angelic Arbiter Creature - Angel 5/6
Lightwielder Paladin Creature - Human Knight 4/4 Vengeful Archon Creature - Archon 7/7
Captain of the Watch Creature - Human Soldier 3/3 Knight Exemplar Creature - Human Knight 2/2
Honor of the Pure Enchantment Serra Ascendant Creature - Human Monk 1/1
Indestructibility Enchantment - Aura Honor of the Pure Enchantment
Silence Instant Leyline of Sanctity Enchantment
Open the Vaults Sorcery Silence Instant
Planar Cleansing Sorcery Day of Judgment Sorcery

White doesn't shake things up that much in the rare and mythic rare departments.  It gains a Titan and loses a captain.  So why is it that green, red, white all lose their token makers and black gets what it is perhaps the best token generator of all time?  I just don't get the unfairness of it all.  I reviewed black four colors ago and I still can't stop talking about how stupidly obscene Grave Titan is.....  But back to white, if you open a large white creature, you are probably going to want to draft white.  However everything rare in white can be trumped by a Doom Blade, so don't pick those huge flyers to early.  Unless of course you open a Baneslayer.  However, if you open a Baneslayer you don't necessarily need my help to convince you to take it. 

 Conclusions

Magic 2011 is a faster environment than Magic 2010.  Most of the walls, regeneraters and Deadly Recluse/s have been taken out of the set.  In addition, trample has been added to many of the beefier creatures.  The set is filled with efficient artifact creatures which means that all colors have access to beefy game ending creatures and there are few defensive creatures to stand in the way. 

Green has been nerfed by losing Deadly Recluse, Overrun, Howl of the Night Pack, Ant Queen, and Oakenform without adequate replacements.  This means that green has two strategies left.  First, play a big creature with trample and hope that it isn't killed. Second, steal the other color's good splashable cards and play three or more colors.  While these strategies can work, they are significantly weaker than the arsenal that green had in Magic 2010.

Blue has received a tremendous boost in card quality and therefore will see a lot more play.  Scry is a very power ability and the ability to know what to bury under you library and what to keep will determine many games.  If you're drafting, always be on the look-out to see if blue is open. 

Red doesn't change a whole lot.  It gets a bit more aggressive with Fling Act of Treason and Arc Runner but it is still all about Lightning Bolt and Fireball.  Red also gets the pumper

Black gets a bit of a glass jaw with the loss of Wall of Bone and Dread Warlock, but it picks up some offensive power with (Lilliana's Specter).  And of course there is Grave Titan.  There I mentioned it again, are you happy now?

White actually doesn't change all that much.  It still relies heavily on Blinding Mage and Pacifism to take command of the game.  It still has some very powerful flyers at all rarities, and it is still king of the weenies.  The only real change is that now it has some very nice pump spells in Mighty Leap and Inspired Charge.  I don't think these will be first picks or anything like that, but they do add a bit to white's bag of tricks.  Even if those tricks have been stolen from green. 

-----------------------------------------------------------

Well, that's about it for me.  Have fun at the prerelease and regular release events.

-Marcus

"Shuyin Knight of Zanarkand" on Magic Online.

 

4 Comments

Whilst I disagree with a few by middleman_35 at Thu, 07/22/2010 - 05:00
middleman_35's picture

Whilst I disagree with a few of the specific numbers, I really like this format for discussing Core Set Limited.

That was massive and by deluxeicoff at Thu, 07/22/2010 - 12:08
deluxeicoff's picture
5

That was massive and mathamatical!

That was massive, by Lord Erman at Thu, 07/22/2010 - 14:20
Lord Erman's picture
5

That was massive, mathematical AND the most complicated, elegant and detailed way of saying "draft Blue/X in M11 drafts".

LE

What can I say, I like to by ArchGenius at Thu, 07/22/2010 - 14:35
ArchGenius's picture

What can I say, I like to SHOW my work. :-)