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By: JBushEsq, Jordan Bush
Apr 13 2009 9:20am
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Hello and welcome back to Musings, this time around I'm going to be taking a look at the Conflux Gold cards and analyzing them for how they stack up in drafts, specifically ALA ALA CON. Before I get to the cards however, I have some of my usual preamble to get through first.

My articles on the other five colors can be found:

Red http://puremtgo.com/articles/musings-look-conflux-limited-red
Green http://puremtgo.com/articles/musings-look-conflux-limited-green
White http://puremtgo.com/articles/musings-look-conflux-limited-white
Blue http://puremtgo.com/articles/musings-look-conflux-limited-blue
Black http://puremtgo.com/articles/musings-look-conflux-limited-black-black



The other five articles have looked at the individual colors from Conflux, which were a bit easier to talk about in terms of what decks they belong into, as for nearly all of them the answer was pretty obvious - a deck playing that color. However, I debated a bit with how to approach gold - IE, should it broken down in a category for each shard, or color pair or somethign else entirely. In the end, I decided just to lump them all together, and for the most part, I'm not going to be addressing what decks each card should go into in terms of color.

As I've been writing these articles, I've been trying to figure out them most elegant and easy to use system for how I rank the cards - in the past I've used a combined method, where I gave a card a "pick-ranking" that stood both for when it should relatively be taken in a draft, as well as the cards overall power level and playability. For the most part, these two values were close enough that it didn't cause too many problems, though it is the exceptions that has prompted me to revist how I approach the card rankings. So, for this article, I'm going to revise this into a two part system in an attempt to give each card a more informative ranking, and one that can be quickly referenced. So, (and let me know what you think) for every card I'm going to assing it both a "Pick Ranking" which will simply be a range of whereabouts I'd be happy to pick up a card (ie: 1st; 3rd-6th, 16th etc.). Obviously, no draft goes the same, and sometimes cards that should be taken 1st come around 8th, and other times the correct choice would be to take a card that should be around a 5th pick, 1st depending on the needs of the deck and a pack's individual strength. So, that being said, the pick range is more of a guide as to when I'd be happy to take any given card rather than absolute maxims on when a card must be taken.

The second rating that I'm going to be giving is going to be "Tier" ranking denoted by Roman Numeral, which is going to indicate the general playability of a card. Check out the chart for how I'm going to define each give tier.

 Tier Ranking  Rationale
 I Absolute, Windmill Slam Bombs - these are the cards that don't just help to win, but rather win the game all by themselves. They will drastically alter the current state of the game and very probably rip victory from almost assurred defeat. This are the cards that should be considered despite needing to slash/change colors for them.
 II Bombs - These are the cream of the crop, if unanswered they will likely win the game in very short order. 99% of the time, an automatic pick for anyone playing the right colors, and worth considering if only a light splash would be required.
 III  The Bread and Butter - These are the cards every decks needs to function - the bombs will win the games, but these will keep the game winable. This category includes most removal, and the better than average creatures.
 IV  Solid - a step down from Tier III, but still very playable and effective cards, unless it was a particularly crazy draft, at least a few of these will end up in your deck
 V  Questionable - not bad per se, but they tend to be lacking for one reason or another, certianly not unplayable, but think of them more as the last few cards that you play to get the right creature count or such.
 VI  Sideboard - Cards that can wreck the right deck, but will be almost unplayable against everyone else.
 VII  Unplayable - Just bad cards that will almost never have a home in a draft deck - go for the highest rarity pick for the hell of it at this point...
   

 

 

Apocalypse Hydra

 In all probability, this will be the biggest thing in play as a 10/10 on turn seven, add to this the fact that he'll drop some of his girth to gun down chumpblockers and you have a really imposing creature. He's easy to splash, and will make a huge impact whenever he sees play, and waiting until seven lands is not far from impossible in this format. Tier II, and 1st. Apocalypse Hydra

Blood Tyrant
 

 Another significant bomb - a 7/7 or bigger on the attack that flys and tramples is pretty scary - he's black too, so he is immune to some removal. Just make sure you have at least a couple of points of life on your opponent so that this guy doesn't kill you first. Tier II, and 1st-3rd. Blood Tyrant

Charnelhoard Wurm
 

 A pretty good card for Jund - he's big, and unless he's blocked completely, he'll start getting creatures back from the yard. Because he's a pretty significan't presence, and will force your opponent to trade at least a couple of guys, I'd be happy to pick him up pretty early, but not without giving the rest of the pack at least a cursory glance. Tier II, and 1st-3rd. Charnelhoard Wurm

Child of Alara
 

 If your deck can support this guy, then there's really no reason not take him as if the board is set up right, this guy makes life pretty hard on your opponent as he can't be chump blocked, and if he's killed, then (hopefully) it will be a fairly one sided situation as you've known about him, and tried not to overextend, while your opponent has likely emptied their hand. Tier II, and 1st -3rd. Child of Alara

Conflux
 

 This one is just too expensive in my book for what it does. Sure, if you can cast it, then you can grab your best four cards. Still, for eight mana I want something that's going to nearly win me the game right away, not make me wait another turn for salvation, and that's of course assuming you have a bomb, and even if your deck has 5+ bombs...well, you probably don't need this one. Tier VII, and pick it whenver theres nothing else in the pack for you to take - its a mythic after all. Conflux

Countersquall
 

 I'm none too fond of counterspells in Limited and this one is actually quite a bit worse than most for a really simply reason - everyone is playing mostly creatures, with only a few spells. Instead of playing this, I'd rather just have removal of my own that I can proactively use instead of having to keep this back and UB open in the hopes that I can avoid one of my opponents. Of course, if you see this late, grab it as it could be boarded in against a deck with a lot of bomby spells. Tier VI, 9th+ Countersquall

Elder Mastery
 

 I've also bemoaned creature enchantments so far - this one however is gold. Usually, I don't like the aura's because they don't really do enough to justify the card disadvatge that happens when the creature is killed. This card gets around that completly as when you spring it on your opponent, and get the creature through, it wrecks your opponent's hand. Add to the fact that it gives evasion and a big +3/+3 boost. Really, just a great spell that turns anyone of your men into a monster. That being said, I'm not sure that I want to take this over a creature that is a bomb all by itself, or removal. Tier II, 1st-4th. Elder Mastery

Esper Cormorants
 

 Not much to say here really - its better for Esper, but only by a smidge - a 3/3 flyer for 4 is just a really solid creature that I'm always happy to have. Tier III, 3rd-5th. Esper Cormorants

Exploding Borders
 

 This is either a Rampant Growth with a (Lave Ax) attached or vice versa depending on how you want to look at it. Either way, a solid card for any mostly Red/Green deck as all applications of this are good - it will either fix your mana if needed early and get a little damage in, or save it until late and get the last few points in with it. Best in domain, but certianly worth a look for Red/Green decks. All that being said, I don't really want to grab this early though unless I'm domain and really need the fixing. Tier IV or V depending. 5th-8th. Exploding Borders

Fusion Elemental
 

 On first glace, this guy looks a lot better than I really think he is. Sure, an 8/8 on turn 5 is really scary. However, for every time this will happen, there will be another ten times when you stumble on your mana and he comes down a lot later. The other major problem is that he doesn't have any evasion and will more or less just eat chump blockers for a while - which is good, just not jaw dropping. Obviously, if your domain he's good, just not great. Tier III, 3rd-5th Fusion Elemental

Giltspire Avenger
 

 I like this little guy a lot. Bant tends to lack removal, so having a Royal Assassin type creature that can deter your opponent from attacking is pretty good. Add in the fact that he's always relevant on the attack with exalted and you have a really solid guy, and having to wait until the creature hits you is what keeps him from being a bomb. Tier III, 3rd-5th. Giltspire Avenger

Goblin Outlander
 

 Ahhh - the first of the Outlanders... Their all pretty decent, even more so with all the gold floating around making it hard for some decks not to be stumpbed by them. This one isn't one of the better one's however, while white does have some removal - theres not a lot of it, and white has a number of men who can just fly over this little guy, still though, at worst he's a bear. Tier IV, 5th-8th. Goblin Outlander

Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer
 

 I think this guy has gotten a little bit of a bad rap. Don't get me wrong, he's not a bomb, but I think he's very playable, it just depends on how you think about his ability - as a defensive one, then your in trouble as he's just feed your opponent more cards until they bide their time, kill Gwafa and have a huge card advantage - of course, there could be situations were you have to use him as such, and thats party of his versatility. However, I think that he really shines in an offensive capacity in a quick Bant/Esper deck with lot of evasion as he can act as spot removal on your opponent's blockers. Add in the fact that at worst, he's still a playable (Grey Ogre) and you have a card that is very worthwhile because of the many options he gives. Tier III, 2nd-4th. Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer

Hellkite Hatchling
 

 I don't like this one - you have to lose a creature just to make him a 3/3 flyer for 4 - hardly a steal, and at this size him trampling is a joke. Sure, you can feed him more tokens to get a decent size threat - but thats assuming you have tokens/ cards to use - and your still down a lot of cards...and heaven forbid your opponent has a solution. Tier V, 7th - 10th. Hellkite Hatchling

Jhessian Balmgiver
 

 Not a bad little utility creature - she can act as a healer and make combat math more difficult for your opponent, or in the late game she can let you get someone else through and keep the offense going despite a stalemate. Pretty solid in my book - Tier IV, 5th-8th. Jhessian Balmgiver

Knight of the Reliquary
 

 Great synergy with this one - she'll fix your mana base, give you some early acceleration, thin your deck and all the while grow herself nice and big for the mid to late game. Really no reason not to play this one, and while she's not quite a bomb all the time, their will be plently of games where she will be and I'd be happy to add her to any deck with green and white. - Tier II, 1st-4th. Knight of the Reliquary

Knotvine Mystic
 

 If only he was easier on the mana to cast - going from three mana on turn three, to six on four is a huge jump that can really let you get the better of an opponent by throwing out larger men than they can handle. Like I said though, he's only this good if you can reliable get him into play early, and at RGW, I don't like the odds, but he's still playable in a deck that has these three colors in balance for those games when he does sure up exactly when you want him. Tier IV, 5th-8th. Knotvine Mystic

Maelstrom Archangel

 Another good five color creature - though not as good as Child of Alara in my book as your deck won't likely be full of super expensive creatures or spells to take advatage of her ability. Still, a 5/5 flyer  is solid if you can play her. Tier III, 2nd-4th. Maelstrom Archangel

Magister Sphinx
 

 A nice big flyer with a very interesting ability - he can either deal 10+ damage to your opponent, or give you some breathing room if you were hit hard early. Either way - he's got some good applications and a bit flying body. Tier II, 1st - 4th Magister Sphinx

Malfegor
 

 I don't like the idea of discarding my hand and getting nothing in return - however, if you can bide your time right, he can be devestating - discard your hand full of lands = to your opponent's creatures in play and end up with an empty playing field and up a 6/6 flying monster. And you can do this pretty early too as he only costs 6 mana. If played right, ths guy is a bomb. Tier II, 1st-3rd. Malfegor

Meglonoth
 

 Another monster. He's big, hard to block, hard to attack into and he'll do both at the same time. I can't really say anything else about this guy other than that he'll dominate the board, oh and he's pretty cheap for a 6/6. Tier II, 1st-3rd. Meglonoth

Nacatl Outlander
 

 The worst of the bunch - blue doesn't really have a lot of removal so to speak - and it has a lot of creatures who can just fly over this guy, and few creatures big enought that they need to be held at bay. Still, with multicolored cards, pro-blue is still pretty relevant, Tier IV, 5th-8th Nacatl Outlander

Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
 

 This is the kind of card I had in mind when I decided what would constitute a Tier I card. He's a little expensive, but the format is slow enough that eight mana will be available more often than not in the late game, and once you get to that point I can think of few other spells that I'd rather cast. His ultimate is pretty nuts, however is the creature steal that really gets me excited: Turn 1, steal your opponent's best creature, Turn 2, steal their next best creature, Turn 3, blow up a land... Being able to not only decimate your opponent's army turn after turn is crazy enough, let alone that you bring them over to your side. Obviously a crazy broken card in limited. Tier 1, 1st. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

Progenitus
 

 In all honesty, this guy is just too difficult to cast to really consider for limited. However, if your deck is up to the challenge no other creature in magic has the presence that this guy does once in play. All I'm going to say is that if you think your deck can cast this monster then grab him, because if you do manage to get him into play he says that your opponent has two turns or less to not lose. He's a Tier II, if your playing 5 colors, then pick him when you see him, he'll probably get raredrafted before het gets back around... Progenitus

Rhox Bodyguard
 

 I like this guy, he's a little expensive at 5, but he's got a pretty big body behind him, and will either be a good exalted attacker, or can stay back and block bears and live all the while he gives a little extra life to help win a race. A really solid guy, but not anything to get overly excited about. Tier IV, 5th-8th. Rhox Bodyguard

Scarland Thrinax
 

 A really functional twist on devour - he's a little hard to cast at first, but if you can get him into play early and he's not killed soon - every other creature that you have that would die becomes food for this guy. Tier III, 3rd-6th. Scarland Thrinax

Shambling Remains
 

 If your playing a really aggressive deck, then this guy is for you - a 4/3 on turn 3 is just huge and will likely be hard to deal with, and even once handled - he'll come back. If your decking is looking to be slower though, this guy might not be what you want. Really good early beats. Tier III, 3rd-6th. Shambling Remains

Skyward Eye Prophets

 A little expensive for a 3/3, but worth it due to a potent ability - its unlikly that this will speed up your mana too much, but he can net extra cards, and reduce drawing lands in the late game when you need spells. He can also attack and use his ability each turn (if your opponenet can't stop him that is...). Overall, a solid creature with a powerful ability, but too expensive to be great. Tier IV 4th-7th. Skyward Eye Prophets

Sludge Strider
 

 A really potent creature for Esper - he's a decent price for a 3/3 body, and if left in play, his 1 life here, another there ability can really add up and help win games. If your artifact count is a little low, he may not be worth it due to the difficulty of casting him - but thats assuming you have an otherwise strong creature base - theres nothing wrong with the 3/3 for 4. Tier III, 3rd-6th. Sludge Strider

Sphinx Summoner
 

 3/3 flyers for 5 are par for the course in this environment, add in his tutor ability to fetch another strong creature and you have an excellent creature, even for an artifact light build. He's particularly devious if you can use his ability multiple times, such as with bounce, or an Esperzoa. A little weak on his own to be considered a bomb however - though if you have some bomby artifact creatures to tutor up with him, well... Tier III, 1st - 6th depending on your deck. Sphinx Summoner

Suicidal Charge
 

 This card seems to get a lot of discussion - and rightly so, it has some really interesting uses. First, it can clear out utility creatures in one fell swoop. Against most decks it can also set up a pretty devistating rout and open the door for hopefully a leathal counter attact. Its major flaw is that you need creatures in play in order to take advantage of your opponent's forced attack. Also, opponent can see it coming for at least a turn and play around it somewhat. Better in Jund than in Grixis due to the better quality of the creatures - though worth starting one in the main either way as at the worst it might be able to catch a couple of X/1s. Tier IV, 4th-8th. Suicidal Charge

Vagrant Plowbeasts
 

On the expensive side, but for most decks this guy alone can spell disaster as he can be nigh impossible to handle - and heaven forbid he has friends to help regenerate. I wouldn't want more than one for fear of having my hand clogged up with uncastable expensive creatures, but I'd be happy to draw one for the late game. Tier III, 3rd-5th.  Vagrant Plowbeasts

Valeron Outlander
 

 In some formats, I'd call this the best of the bunch - but Black just doesn't have that great of a presence yet in ALA ALA CON - the creatures just arn't that big and the removal isn't abundant. Still - bears are decent, and the pro-black is never bad. Tier IV, 5th-8th Valeron Outlander

Vectis Agents

 This guy is really cool - He's pretty big at 4/3 - and can attack as is a lot of the time and force a 2 for 1. Though being able to get through 2 every turn is great for winning races - and he can be pumped to get through for even more. Tier III, 3rd-6th Vectis Agents

Vedalken Outlander
 

 The best of the bunch - he's an artifact, so theres no shortage of interactions to be found as a result, also red has a lot of potent direct damage, so being immune to it is always good. Further, red has some sizeable creatures on its own, and paired with green - so being able to block them all day long is certianly good. Tier III, 3rd-7th. Vedalken Outlander

Zombie Outlander
 

 Ahh, the last but not least. Pro green is really good - this guy can hold back your opponent's green fat men, while you get through in the air with Blue/Black flyers. Tier III, 3rd -7th. Zombie Outlander

 Overall:
Most of the sets bombs are to be found here in gold, which is no suprise as its a gold heavy block. There is a suprising lack of removal here - most of it being shifted to the main colors in Conflux.

So, with gold down - all thats left is colorless, which I hope to have finished in the next few days. Sorry about the long delay with this one, gold has about twice as many cards as do the individual colors so it took longer than expected. As always, I hope this helps in thinking about the set for drafting, and any questions or comments are greatly valued.

Cheers

11 Comments

Just wanted to say that these by Lord Erman at Mon, 04/13/2009 - 10:01
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Just wanted to say that these kind of articles are always hard for the writer because there is absolutely no chance that people will agree with you totally. Everyone will always reject and say that you overvalued this and undervalued that. This is the nature of these articles. You should be aware of this and you should welcome all such comments(I'm not saying you're not btw).

But this doesn't change the fact that I like these kind of articles. I'm not a draft player myself so my limited knowledge is limited :). This information is therefore valueable for me (if some day I decide to draft, I know where to look).

But I think that you should have done these articles a little bit early when the set was new and everyone was looking for some advise what to draft and what not to. The new set is around the corner and I'm sure that limited players already are familiar with Conflux by now (this was a comment I think you should consider for the next set).

And a suggestion: Just because the next set is all-gold, you cannot divide it into colors. But maybe you can divide it into card types. Like creatures first, enchantments (if there will be sufficient) next and sorceries/instants in a 3rd article. Or you can go by the number of colors. 2-color cards first, 3-color cards next and then the rest.

Just some suggestions. Good job overall.

LE

Bad timing by JBushEsq at Mon, 04/13/2009 - 10:44
JBushEsq's picture

Getting this one out took me a lot longer than I wanted it too - and I just wanted to apologize for that again. I had the first article on black done about two weeks before the set was released online...but due to a problem with the card pics it didn't get published until the set was already out... Then life just got in the way and kept me from getting these all out within a few weeks of the sets release. So, I hope that if nothing else, this one helps people think of drafting the set a little bit more. For ALR though, I hope to get the set done within a few weeks - I should have less going on at that point that will get in the way too.

Anyways - keep the comments/debates on the cards coming and stay tuned later in the week for my last smaller article in this seris - Colorless.

Cheers

My only point of criticism is by Anonymous at Mon, 04/13/2009 - 12:57
Anonymous's picture

My only point of criticism is Elder Mastery. I've done probably 25-30 AAC drafts on MTGO and it's fairly common for that card to go 8th-12th. It seems very bomby at glance, but it just has all sorts of things going against it. If they have instant removal or bounce for it, you're down an entire turn worth of mana, a card from your hand and a creature off of the board. I've managed to connect with it once or twice (meaning, successfully casting it onto my critter, and swinging for damage) and it's indeed game-changing... if they still have cards in hand on turn 6.

Otherwise, nice job. I enjoy articles like this.

Elder Mastery by JBushEsq at Mon, 04/13/2009 - 13:03
JBushEsq's picture

Hehe, I agree with Elder Mastery - I really hate creature enchantments, and you certainly have to be very careful when trying to resolve it least something really bad happen. Though if your careful, and you need to do something big to help win games, then the aura might just do it. As was said above though, It'll come around late often too - so take it if you really need some power - otherwise hope that it might wheel around.

thanks for the series by maqifrnswa at Mon, 04/13/2009 - 20:26
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thanks for the series. There's always room for debate (part of why we like this game), but this series at least let's us get compare our opinions with an outside source. Looking forward to Alara Reborn's series

Well Done .... by Exodus at Mon, 04/13/2009 - 20:36
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I won't rip into your values of majority of these cards as I have alot of different views on these specific cards as well as most of your series. What kind of player would you describe yourself as?

Thanks

What kind of player am I? by JBushEsq at Mon, 04/13/2009 - 21:56
JBushEsq's picture

Man, that is a loaded question if I ever heard one, haha. I'm going to try and cover as many angles as I can without going on for pages:

I'd say I'm pretty spiky in terms of playing to win, but I do enjoy a good, hard fought game. Though I definitely have a bit of a Johnny streak in me when it comes to constructed decks, with a lesser bit of Timmy in me, more for limited with that though.

As far as how good or lack thereof I am as a player - we'll that's hard to answer. In all honesty I'd call myself a good player who understands that he'll never be great due to lack of time(got to love law school...).

So I have no idea if that answers your question or not :P

what year law school are you by anonymous (not verified) at Tue, 04/14/2009 - 22:16
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law school is great. what year are you?

Finishing up my 1st year (so by JBushEsq at Tue, 04/14/2009 - 22:32
JBushEsq's picture

Finishing up my 1st year (so a 1L still).

I'll bemoan it from time to time, but I agree, it is really not all bad - just a lot of work.

ALR by Rerepete at Wed, 04/15/2009 - 00:38
Rerepete's picture
5

If you take Lord Erman's suggestion, perhaps you can approach Alara Reborn from a two-drop, three-drop, (etc.) angle when you get to the creature article...

I like this series, btw, keep up the good work (when you can find the time, LOL).

Question though, does protection from blue, red or black make those outlanders immune from Nicol Balos, planeswalker's abilities?

Glad you like the Series =D. by JBushEsq at Wed, 04/15/2009 - 00:43
JBushEsq's picture

Glad you like the Series =D. I'm working on the final installment now...I hope to explore some different types of articles before ALR starts to kick in - but we'll see.

And yes, the appropriate form of protection does indeed keep a creature safe from planeswalkers and their targeted abilities. However, Bolas's ultimate does not target a creature, it targets a player, so there might be situations when your opponent doesn't have a choice but to sacrifice such a creature, or they may want to for other reasons.