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By: Lord Erman, Nafiz Erman
Feb 02 2010 3:33am
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ROGUE PLAY
My Worldwake
Part I
 

by Nafiz Erman

Hello dear readers. Finally after a long wait, a new set is around the corner. These days everybody looks at the new cards with great enthusiasm and tries to evaluate them. In every set there are those big obvious bombs and real big junks but the rest is always a bit blurry.

Is this card going to break the meta?

Can we turn this one into something huge?

I know there is something I can use this card with but what? And how?

All these questions and more are filling our minds. Depending on our Magic knowledge, we answer some of those questions. We see some card interactions which newer players can't see immediately. But even then there are many cards we can't evaluate correctly. And right at that point we start reading what others think about the new cards. Right at this point we start reading set reviews.

We read almost everything we can find. From the guys at WotC to the most casual amateur writer, everyone has something to offer and something to say. Sometimes we find ourselves reading a bad article but then there is one small card interaction we haven't thought of before and all of a sudden that bad article becomes golden for us.

This set review article you are currently reading could be your very first or it could be the tenth one; this doesn't matter. In this article you may find things you already knew. You may find other things which you already read from other writers. But then there is the chance that I can show you something you weren't aware of. Something you may find interesting. But in any case I will try to make this a fun journey for you; after all the set reviews are definitely a lot of fun.

Okay dear readers, enough with the mumbling.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Zendikar, more dangerous and more unstable than ever. There is something going on in this world and the world itself is aware of it. And it doesn't like it. The land awakens. And it's angry. Oh and it saw you and didn't like you by the way. If you are strong enough, you will find a way to command the land. Otherwise... well, otherwise may the gods of Zendikar be merciful on you. But that is the way things are on Zendikar. Welcome back dear traveler to Zendikar. Welcome to My Worldwake.

MY WORLDWAKE

 

WHITE
Angel's Feather

White in Zendikar was one of the best colors. People built very successful Control decks in ZEN Block and very successful Aggro and Control decks with White in Standard. Boros Bushwhacker and Control are two such good examples.

And the White cards from Zendikar effected many formats as well. Classic players loved Iona, Shield of Emeria and Standard players immediately replaced Wrath of God with Day of Judgment. We saw many different Mono White decks in Standard using many different Zendikar cards. We saw Conqueror's Pledge, Steppe Lynx, Brave the Elements and Emeria Angel in Tier-1 decks. We saw Journey to Nowhere, Kazandu Blademaster, Luminarch Ascension and Kor Skyfisher in Tier-1 decks. We even saw Sunspring Expedition in some decks' sideboards.

So yes, we can easily say that White in Zendikar was a successful color.

And what exactly does Worldwake offer us? Will White continue being one of the dominant colors at least in Block and in Standard? Let's try to answer those questions.

The first card I want to talk about from White is -obviously- Admonition Angel. This one is a 6/6 flyer for that casts Oblivion Ring  each time you play a land. At first this looks awesome. I mean, she alone turns Harrow into one of the most deadliest removal spells in existence. But is she really that awesome? Will we face her in high level Standard games? And what about ZEN Block?

My answer, at least for Standard, is simple: No.

It will definitely be attempted. It will definitely fail. She's not Constructed worthy. Not until our beloved Baneslayer Angel rotates; if she ever rotates of course.

There are, however, two decks that will try her: Mono White Emeria Control and  mana ramp decks built around Summoning Trap. If those decks ever reach to Tier-1 status, then we might see Admonition Angel in tournament level decks. And the same is true for ZEN Block as well. Mono White Emeria Control would definitely use this new angel but the question is whether or not that deck could beat Vampires and  Control.

But even though I don't think highly of her, I must still admit that she has a very epic feel and deserves to be a Mythic Rare. Oh and the art. Isn't it simply breathtaking?

From this mighty epic angel, I move onto something which looks very small but can reach to the size of a dragon in no time. I'm talking about Hada Freeblade of course.

Allies are seeing a bright future with Worldwake and Hada Freeblade is one of those cards that could make them Tier-1. This is a perfect one drop. You can even use it in a Mono White Ally deck. This one, Kazandu Blademaster, Kabira Evangel, the new instant ally maker, Honor of the Pure and some removal, and you're ready to go. Brilliant!

Speaking of allies, I should of course mention that "new instant ally maker" called Join the Ranks. This card alone opens a whole new door for the allies to a whole new dimension. Now you can attack with your 3/3 Kazandu Blademaster into your opponent's Baneslayer Angel and kill her. You can even do the same with any 3/3 Ally if you have Highland Berserker on table. There were many other instant speed token producers before but none was this efficient. The possibilities are endless and I'm sure that Join the Ranks will be one of the highly sought after Commons of Worldwake.

There are two other White Commons in Zendikar which I want to highlight. One is Iona's Judgment. Even though this Common is definitely not Constructed material, I'm sure Limited players would love to see it in their card pools. It may be expensive but expensive removal is still removal and this is some real piece of removal.

The second Common I want to talk about is Rest for the Weary. Essentially this is an immediate Sunspring Expedition that costs more. Which in my opinion, is a better version. I'm sure those decks that had Sunspring Expedition in their sideboards, will replace it with this new spell after Worldwake. Eight life for two mana is just too good to pass.

Then there is Perimeter Captain. I still can't believe that WotC really made this card. It's simply amazing. I mean, this is by far the best one drop defensive creature spell ever designed. One cost 0/4 creatures are very hard to deal with as shown lately by Kraken Hatchling. Not only it gains you two life each time one of your defender creatures blocks, but if you have two Perimeter Captains out, their ability stacks and you gain four life by simply blocking with your, say, Wall of Denial.

Then there is the fact that he has a toughness of four which makes him really hard to kill with burn spells. To kill him outside of combat, your opponent will have to spend one of his high quality removal on this guy such as Terminate or Maelstrom Pulse or Path to Exile. And killing him on the red zone will require some real brute force which can take time to gather and this will most definitely buy time for the player who is playing Perimeter Captain and possibly other creatures with defender.

But in any case, this new creature will be a huge headache for the opponent; that much is sure.

From this one simple yet very effective card, I want to move onto another such card; Terra Eternal.

It's gametext is very simple: All lands are indestructible. Which means what? A Landstill variant in Standard? Wow, that is so cool, don't you think? Take that Mr.Wasteland!!

But I still can't decide on the art. Is it terra-ble or terra-fic? Still not sure.

I'm coming to the end of White but there are still some great cards I must mention. Such as Kor Firewalker and the new White Kird Ape called Loam Lion. The Kor creature is a very nice sideboard card and if you play it in a deck, you'll gain some life, and he doesn't die to your own Earthquakes as well. Oh and him against Mono Red... well... that would be really fun(!). But even against Jund this will be an awesome sideboard card.

And I'm sure people will play Loam Lion. Ranger of Eos has just got a new friend. NayaRangerZooLightsaberAggroWhatever.dec will be a huge blast to play at the very least.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

The final card I want to talk about from White is Ruin Ghost. At first sight this creature looks like a fine Landfall enabler. As a matter of fact, it is a fine Landfall enabler. But there is more about this one. Much more. More on this below under Blue. The only thing I will say now is that you shouldn't forget that the land it exiles comes into play untapped. Which basically means that his ability costs zero to activate.

And that's all from White I want to discuss. There is also Marshal's Anthem but at the moment I don't know what to think about it so I'm skipping it. Many highly respected writers I read so far think that it's a great card and most probably it is, but I will make my decision only after I play it.

And here's my first podium:

THE WHITE PODIUM
BEST CARD OF WHITE MY FAVORITE OF WHITE BEST ART OF WHITE BEST FLAVOR TEXT OF WHITE

It may be surprising for you dear readers that I declare an Uncommon as the best card of White and another Uncommon as my favorite. But this is how I evaluate Worldwake's White cards and only time will tell if I'm right or wrong.

 

BLUE
Kraken's Eye

 

When people talk about the colors in Magic, they start talking about this "color pie". I always wondered what this mysterious color pie looks like. Do you believe it looks like this?

I'm sure most of the players believe that this above is the look of that so called color pie. But I don't think this is true. I think that if we're talking about the whole Magic and not some narrow formats including Standard, then the real color pie would look like this:

Blue without doubt is the most powerful color in Magic. And it's not only slightly better than the other colors. No. Blue is the most dominant color of Magic. And why is this so? I mean, what makes Blue so special? Of course we all know the answer; card drawing, manipulation and the ability to say no; meaning counterspells.

Sadly after Lorwyn/Shadowmoor rotated, we lost almost everything in Standard that makes Blue so special. All we had was some situational counterspells and really bad card drawing spells. I still can't believe it; Divination was in all the Tier-1 Control decks before Worldwake!

After new year, Mr. Aaron Forsythe promised us some good Blue cards and eventually all fans of Blue including yours truly, turned their eyes on this new set.  And let's see if Worldwake can make us happy or not.

First and foremost; we will continue waiting for that good counterspell. Worldwake is solving some problems but not all, and a good counterspell is one of those things it isn't solving. But it solves the other big problem; card drawing.

I'm sure you all saw Treasure Hunt and followed all the conversation about it. People say that a turn one Halimar Depths followed by a second turn Treasure Hunt will be a great start. We'll see that.

Recently I even read whole articles written by well known players about Treasure Hunt. Do you see the irony? We had much better card drawing spells in the past but no one wrote articles about them. But the river is so dry at the moment in Standard if you know what I mean, that a single drop of water makes everyone smile. A simple above average card drawing spell nowadays makes people write whole articles. Interesting.

Okay back to the topic. Worldwake actually gives Blue many good cards and Treasure Hunt, while being one of the most important ones, is definitely not the only one. There are many and I want to start with something that may not look like much to some but is a real gem in reality. I'm talking about this one:

This is what I'm talking about when I say manipulation. As long as you can keep the other side of the table clear, this clumsy looking turtle will turn into an agile Giant Solifuge. So yes, this is the kind of stuff Blue needs. Tricky dudes (turtles in this case) that can actually get there.

Then of course there is the master of manipulation. As we all know, Mr. Jace Beleren decided to visit us on Zendikar under the name of Jace, the Mind Sculptor.

First of all I must say this: This new Jace is no toy for beginners. There are a lot of options on this card, each better than the other, and I can easily say that it favors the skilled pilots. Because only they will make the right decisions while having this one on table.

The second obvious thing about it, is that it's a freakin' Brainstorm every turn!!! How awesome is this? And in case you didn't know, there is a big difference between Brainstorming and simple card drawing. One gets you what you have on top of your library but the other allows you to arrange the top of your library... so that you can get more cards with Treasure Hunt of course!

And why is this so important? Very simple. Jund is going nowhere. It will still be number one choice of players after Worldwake. And that deck plays the best cascade spells. It always pays one but gets two. Now as the Control player, you have the chance to race them. If they play two spells per turn, you will then draw two cards per turn. Isn't this great?

And finally you may do some silly things with this new Jace. Is your opponent stuck on three lands? Cool, keep Opting him and either keep that nonland card on top of his library or put his land on the bottom of his library and make him skip another land drop.

Oh God, how typically Blue. And how I love it!

There is only one problem I see in this new Jace and it's the mana cost of it. Against other Control decks, paying and then staying fully tapped on turn four might not that much of a problem. I mean, what could a Control deck do on turn four? The worst case scenario is that you will get hit by a Blightning but that's acceptable considering you just brought your Jace on table. 

But the same is not so true against Aggro. Against them, early game is everything. You remain tapped on turn four and voila; you have now a lovely(!) Knight of the Reliquary or a cute(!) Woolly Thoctar or worse an adorable(!) Bloodbraid Elf who brings GodKnowsWhichHorribleCard with her, to deal with. And most probably your Jace won't live long enough to see you untap.

And this fact makes me think two things:

1- Maybe the original Jace Beleren won't go anywhere and will still be the choice of Control players for card drawing.
2- Or maybe Control decks will pack this new Jace, the Mind Sculptor in their sideboards and bring him in against other Control decks.

As you see I'm not totally sure which Jace we will play/play against but I'm 100% sure we will definitely meet one of his personas. 

My next two cards from Blue are allies; Jwari Shapeshifter and Halimar Excavator. Those two cards make me think of one single thing only; Miller Allies!

Check this deck idea out:

Miller Allies A Future Standard deck by Nafiz Erman

24 Lands

4x Misty Rainforest
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Arid Mesa
2x Esper Panorama
8x Island
4x Plains

19 Creatures

4x Hedron Crab
4x Halimar Excavator
4x Jwari Shapeshifter
4x Makindi Shieldmate
3x Sea Gate Loremaster

17 Other Spells

4x Join the Ranks
4x Path to Exile
4x Archive Trap
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Whiplash Trap

15 Cards Sideboard

Yet to be decided.

What do you think? Do you think this will work?

Path to Exile plus Archive Trap is a two card combo which mills the opponent for thirteen cards by merely paying a . Hedron Crab is six cards everytime you play a fetchland. And then play Halimar Exacator, Clone him with Jwari Shapeshifter, fill your hand with Sea Gate Loremaster, protect yourself with Makindi Shieldmate while milling your opponent further by simply playing it and finally make more allies Join the Ranks of yours and voila; the result is an empty library on the other side of the table.

I don't know about you but I will definitely try this deck.

The next Blue card I want to mention is Dispel. Dispel is a great card even though it doesn't look like one at first sight. If you're playing a Combo deck and fear opposing removal, you can then protect your Combo pieces by just leaving an untapped Island. Before Dispel we had Negate (well, we still have it of course) but that meant leaving two untapped lands instead of one. Now our decks can protect its pieces at a lower price.

The other Blue cards I want to go over quickly are Mysteries of the Deep and Sejiri Merfolk. The former is a nice splashable instant speed Tidings and the latter is a... dare I call it Mr. Baneslayer Angel Jr.?

Then there is this one:

You may wonder what I have to say about this one. After all, without doubt this will be another $0,10 junk Rare in no time. And that is when you should get your playset! Because it may be too late after Rise of the Eldrazi comes and fills Standard with artifacts. I'm not even talking about the next big set which is rumored to be Mirrodin v2. So get your copies before it's too late.

There are two more cards I want to discuss from Blue but I will do so in some detail. They both are some form of Combo enablers and therefore deserve some detailed explanation. The first one is Tideforce Elemental.

For this you need three cards which puts it into Casual-Only category but I will talk about it nevertheless. Here's the combo I'm talking about:

INFINITE LANDFALL COMBO

When you have all those three cards on table, you play a land and Lotus Cobra gives you one mana instantly. You tap the land you just played (considering it was able to give you White mana) and exile it with your Spirit creature. When it enters the battlefield you get another mana with Lotus Cobra and you select Blue. With that Blue mana you tap your Elemental to untap your Spirit. You once again tap the land that just entered the battlefield, exile it with Ruin Ghost and when it enters the battlefield, it will once again trigger Lotus Cobra as well as Tideforce Elemental. Wash, rinse and repeat.

As you see those three cards mean infinite Landfall. But what will you do with infinite Landfall? Well, you can gain infinite life with Grazing Gladehart for starters. Or you can get infinite tokens with either Emeria Angel or with Rampaging Baloths. You can get your Steppe Lynx to infinite power and toughness. Or you can mill your opponent in one single turn with Hedron Crab. And finally Ob Nixilis, the Fallen will kill your opponent in one single turn.

It's a very fragile combo and it needs a lot of cards which, as I said, will put it into Casual-Only category. But the combo is there if you wish to try it.

And I saved the best for the last. The last card I want to talk about from Blue is Selective Memory.

Just like any normal player, the moment I saw this one I immediately thought of Treasure Hunt. What kind of possibilities do you think there are? Or do you think there are any possibilities in the first place between two?

Or how about using this one with M10's junk Rare Mirror of Fate? With Selective Memory we can remove all nonland cards from our library and then activate Mirror of Fate and put our most precious seven cards on top of our library. There is no shuffling required with Mirror of Fate and thus we will get those seven cards in the order we wish to.

But what could be those seven cards? Could one of them be for example Open the Vaults? I don't know, just asking.

Or maybe you would use Selective Memory in your Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle deck. Just leave your Harrows in deck and then exile the rest. All you will draw will be lands or Harrows. You can even add this one in your Extended Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle deck and instead of Harrows, you will leave your Scapeshifts in deck. But in any case Selective Memory sounds like a great card. I'm sure better deck builders will find better uses for it than me.

Oh and finally you can have some Casual fun with Selective Memory. Just play in together with Quest for Ula's Temple and remove everything but keep your Krakens and Octopuses and Leviathans and Serpents in deck. Wouldn't it be fun?

And finally after that many words, here's my Blue Podium.

THE BLUE PODIUM
BEST CARD OF BLUE MY FAVORITE OF BLUE BEST ART OF BLUE BEST FLAVOR TEXT OF BLUE

 

 

BLACK 
Demon's Horn

I'm sure you didn't know this... Abyssal Persecutor is just an insane card. You didn't know that did you? I told you that my review article would be useful.

Joking aside, what we have here is really a case we must study a bit. A fourth turn 6/6 flying trample creature is really not a joke. There is no way of racing him. You can only stop him with a bunch of creatures and one is Wall of Denial and the other is Baneslayer Angel. If you don't have them in deck or can't draw them on time, the game will end very fast.

Of course the card has a drawback. Once the opponent's life is zero or below zero, it must be destroyed so that you can win. But with the amount of high quality removal we have in Standard, I don't think that this will be a problem.

Of course the opponent might counter your Terminate. Or he may counter your Fleshbag Marauder.

But maybe you can do some tricky things like playing a simple Gluttonous Slime at the end of his turn and devour your Demon. Did he just counter that too? Okay, then you will destroy your Demon with the most secure card in Standard; you will destroy it with Bone Splinters.

You sacrifice the creature as an additional cost to play the spell. Think of the sacrifice you make to your own Harrow. The spell can be countered but the land you sacrificed is gone. So your opponent may counter Bone Splinters but there is no way he can counter the sacrifice. So your Demon will be dead. And you will win the game.

Oh and you can target Abyssal Persecutor with Bone Splinters and then sacrifice him to the spell. The spell will resolve but will fizzle because there are no legal targets on table anymore. So you don't have to have two creatures out when you play Bone Splinters.

Without doubt Abyssal Persecutor will be the most expensive card of Worldwake. But considering what he can do, I think he will be worth every penny.

Abyssal Persecutor is also the best card of Worldwake's Black cards. It's even the best card of the set but there are many more Black cards we must talk and most of them require some form of "love" for vampires. Such as Anowon, the Ruin Sage and Urge to Feed.

Anowon is an amazing card and unlike most of the other legendary famous characters, his card is definitely and absolutely playable. The only question is this: Vampires.dec already plays Malakir Bloodwitch at five mana. But this new card must be played too. So which one will stay in the sideboard and which one will be played in the maindeck?

And the new Last Gasp together with Smother is just making Vampires incredibly powerful. I cannot predict anything for Standard but in ZEN Block they will be the most powerful deck for sure; as if they weren't already.

The next Vampire I want to talk about is Bloodhusk Ritualist.  If you pay the same mana you pay to Mind Sludge, this new vampire makes the opponent discard two cards. But unlike Mind Sludge, you'll end up with a 2/2 body.

I don't think that Bloodhusk Ritualist will be ignored. In Standard she will mean a 4/3 flyer with Vampire Nocturnus that makes the opponent discard two cards (or more, or less) and this is really too good to ignore. In  ZEN Block those people who play Mind Sludge might remove it to the sideboard and put this new vampire to their maindeck. If they play against Aggro, Bloodhusk Ritualist will be more than enough. Against Control, they will be replaced with Mind Sludge after the first game.

The final vampire that deserves a few words is this:

Basically this is a new Bloodchief Ascension on legs that triggers everytime your Bloodghast goes to the graveyard. Now the real question is this: Will this new vampire replace Vampire Hexmage? I'm talking about Standard and Block where there are no possibilities to create a 20/20 flying indestructible creature with the Hexmage. One is a 2/1 first striker and the other is a massive life gain. Which one would you prefer?

I think I would prefer something like this:

VAMPIRES A Future Standard deck by Nafiz Erman

24 Lands

4x Marsh Flats
4x Verdant Catacombs
16x Swamp
 

22 Creatures

4x Vampire Nocturnus
4x Vampire Nighthawk
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Bloodghast
3x Kalastria Highborn
3x Malakir Bloodwitch

14 Other Spells

4x Urge to Feed
4x Smother
4x Sign in Blood
2x Grim Discovery

15 Cards Sideboard

Yet to be decided.

Thankfully I bought my playset of Vampire Nocturnus for $1,00 each (the promo one) after M10's release and paid $4,00 for the playset. A playset of promo Vampire Nocturnus costs now $60,00. Wow!

Okay, nice vampires we have in Worldwake, but is Worldwake all about vampires and a mythic demon? Well unfortunately the answer, for me at least, is yes. So yes, Worldwake's Black is all about vampires and a mythic demon.

As I'm evaluating cards from mainly a competitive Standard and Block perspective, the rest of the cards don't mean much to me. I can guess that Limited players would love to open a Corrupted Zendikon and/or Tomb Hex. I'm sure Casual players would play the new Grave Pact on legs called Butcher of Malakir and that they will play the new black ally called Agadeem Occultist. I'm sure people will try the new Phyrexian Dreadnought; the so called Death's Shadow.

But for me that don't mean much.

And here's my Black podium.

THE BLACK PODIUM
THE BEST CARD OF BLACK MY FAVORITE OF BLACK BEST ART OF BLACK BEST FLAVOR TEXT OF BLACK

And no, I'm not kidding. This really IS my Black podium. I love everything about Abyssal Persecutor. From its gametext to its art and flavor text.

 

WRAP UP

Okay dear readers, it's time to say goodbye. I still have two other colors, those two multicolored cards, plus lands and artifacts to talk about from Worldwake but that article you will read next week. Next week we will have some more fun. I will show you a two card combo for Standard which might be more than just Casual-Only if build correctly. But all those things we will talk about next week.

Thanks for reading.

See you online
Nafiz Erman, aka Lord Erman

13 Comments

Cool by LOurs at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 07:05
LOurs's picture
5

Nice article LE.

just a comment about Terra Eternal because i appreciate this card a lot but i am not sure it might that interesting : even if i understood the ironical "Take that Mr.Wasteland!!" sentence, i would like to say that wasteland is a tempo card at least in the format where he is allowed to be ran. I mean, terra needs 3 manas, but usualy at the time you could cast it, wasteland has already damaged your mana base ... In standard, even if there is the new tectonic edge, there is nothing comparable to wasteland effect. The closest tempo gain cards based on mana denials are these enchantments tranforming the lands into island or another basic land (forgot the names). And Terra eternal does not prevent your opponent from casting them, or you from being harmed... i dont know enough the standard meta, but i doubt, with the available cards right now, that it could be that impressive, except maybe vs goblin ruinblaster. But if we exclude tempo, it could have been interesting if it avoids the legendary rule in example, but ... it seems it cant.
In extend, it is a bit different but here again nothing really comparable to wasteland, except ghostly quarter... in my experience (but i am really not a specialist) once again the most tempo gain based on land are coming from enchantment and/or creature (a la magus of the moon) or sacrifice (a la smallpox) ... terra nova is here ineffective.
In eternal format, i dont know yet, too many cards available to abuse of it, in response to geddon ie. But i guess it will be really too slow to see it in classic/vintage. In legacy it could be used, but i dont identify in which deck yet.
It remains 100S : in this format, i guess this card would be a house! Mana denial is a nice strategy in this format, and i guess this enchantment could annihilate on its own a geddon strategy.
Only my opinions ... my 2,3 cents ... but i surely fogot some elements ...

How are you feeling about by StealthBadger at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 07:52
StealthBadger's picture

How are you feeling about Anowon, the ruin sage? I know most people are thinking he's just going to be casual and/or get a couple of slots in the vampire deck, but I think he's great! I've been testing him as a win condition in a sort of weird u/b control deck (along with sphinx of jwarr isle, which I never leave home without). The deck isn't great (thinking about turning it esper), but anowon has been nuts.

Also, I think something you sort of skirted around is that one of the main reasons people think jace is so hot is that he's probably going to drop on turn 4 after calcite snapper or wall of denial, then either up himself to 5 counters or bounce their second creature.
You're right about him requiring a bit of skill to play. I played him out a few times in the pre-release, and rarely had a clue what to be doing with him!

Thanks for the comments. I by Lord Erman at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 09:35
Lord Erman's picture

Thanks for the comments.

I too believe that Anowon is a great card but it needs some testing. In Standard all the non-Vampire Aggro decks play White as one of their colors (or as their only color) and against them Malakir Bloodwitch is a real gem. Against Jund things change but they will now play Abyssal Persecutor and Anowon won't be a wise card against that demon (same is also true against Sprouting Thrinax and/or Garruk's tokens).

On the other hand, slow Control decks also play White and this makes Malakir Bloodwitch still a better choice. And it won't matter which one you play against Grixis Control; they have too many removal and a simple Lightning Bolt or Agony Warp will be enough against Anowon.

But I'm optimistic for ZEN Block. Maybe there he may have a use. We shall see that of course.

And LOurs, of course that "Take that Mr. Wasteland" was a joke. And in older formats, I think I would play Sacred Ground or Crucible of Worlds before even considering Terra Eternal. It's only use could be in Standard. If someone manages to come up with a good Landstill variant, then we MAY see it in that decklist. Otherwise, it's a solid casual room material.

Oh and it makes ALL lands indestructible. So Armageddon won't work.

Thanks again for the comments.

LE

I have a few comments based by ArchGenius at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 11:43
ArchGenius's picture
5

I have a few comments based on my initial reactions to the set.

I'm surprised you didn't mention Stoneforge Mystic for white. I think Kor weenies are going to be much better than Allies for the white weenie option. Allies are just so susceptible to Day of Judgement, while Kor at least leave behind their equipment when Day of Judgement sweeps them away. Also Stoneforge Mystic makes Kor Duelist and Kor Skyfisher so much better. I also feel that the Kor Duelist and Landfall Lynx are much better one-drops than Hada Freeblade and that will make a world of difference in White Weenie.

When we're talking about block constructed, I think the White/Blue gets the lion's share of the best cards. While Vampires got some nice cards that make slight improvements, White/Blue gets some much needed card quality advantage tools along with a more stable mana base. (Collonade) In block, I think it will surpass Vampires in popularity.

I'm also trying to figure out how Smother and Urge to Feed will make Vampires that much better than they already are. Vampires already have decent cheap removal and trading one removal spell for another may make a slight improvement but it isn't going to drastically effect the power level of the deck.

One of the things you didn't mention about the Bloodhusk Ritualist is that as a replacement for Mind Sludge, she enables Vampires to splash other colors for man-lands, burn, card draw, or whatever.

Thanks for the comment by Lord Erman at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 12:12
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Thanks for the comment ArchGenius.

I think that Stoneforge Mystic will be played in those formats where you can fetch Jitte with her. But as I'm no expert of those formats, I skipped this card. I don't believe the Kor will be played in Standard and I don't believe that they can beat Vampires in Block. And only time will tell if I'm right or wrong.

I totally agree that WU Control is now better in Block. In this article I mentioned all the cards that will make it better other than the manland, but that card belongs to "Lands" and lands belong to next week's Part II.

The only card I really forgot to mention is the Blue Zendikon. It's a great card and deserves a few words but somehow I forgot it.

Black's new removal spells are making them better because Smother and Urge to Feed are better than Disfigure and Feast of Blood. None of those older ones could do anything to the WU manland but Smother will destroy it on sight. Smother will actually destoy all manlands and that's the reason why it's in the set. So yes, Vampires are better than ever because they can now deal with the new threats (and old ones) more efficiently.

Thanks again for taking time and commenting.

LE

When it comes to Stoneforge by ArchGenius at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 12:46
ArchGenius's picture

When it comes to Stoneforge Mystic I think people really underestimate her because they don't think there are any worthwhile pieces of equipment in standard. I think that's a false assumption. Adventuring Gear is very solid, and with the new Halimar Depths, I can see Explorer's Scope getting some play time as well. Especially when you only need 1 copy that you can search for with the Mystic.

Well, I've been playing White Kor Weenie in block for a couple of weeks now and I haven't lost a match to Vampires. (about 10 matches) I can't see the match-up changing that much, especially if they are going to switch out Disfigure for Smother.

Brave the Elements, Devout Lightcaster, and equipment is usually more than Vampires can handle. Devout Lightcaster with equipment back-up can certainly outrace the much slower Malakir Bloodwitch.

The main problem that White Kor Weenie has is with White/Blue control. I've won only one out of five matches I've played against White/Blue control, and that match-up is probably only going to get worse with Worldwake.

So, at the moment I'm just trying to find a deck that has a favorable match-up against White/Blue.... About the only thing I've come up with is White/Blue with Archive Trap and Hedron Crab.

If you say the Kor is good, by Lord Erman at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 14:44
Lord Erman's picture

If you say the Kor is good, then I take your word for it.

It's too early to say this or that deck will beat WU Control in Block but I'm sure there will be something equally strong as it is. Hedron Crab is also my first guess.

LE

Best flavor text - "The best by Tarmotog at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 12:36
Tarmotog's picture
5

Best flavor text
- "The best expedition would be an entire team of me"
Lol... AGREED! (about the part being the best)
(There won't be that much incremental difference with more of me around =x)

Great article I definitely by JustSin at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 12:48
JustSin's picture
5

Great article I definitely agree with some of your insights especially black, I saw that demon and can't wait to get my hands on it so brutal and with a setback that isn't really hard to overcome... 4 for a 6/6 flying trampler is what I like to see... I also hadn't considered the mill deck idea, I really like the list your provided there.. it may not become a competitive level thing, but at the very least from a casual standpoint I love to see something different like that instead of any number of 'fake' teir-1s

Indestructible by mysticknight232 (not verified) at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 14:14
mysticknight232's picture

If all your lands are indestructible and you sacrifice quicksand to use it's ability, how does that affect quicksand? it's still sacrificed correct? i take sacrifice to be different than the word destroy, but i'm not sure.

You're correct, by spg at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 14:52
spg's picture

You're correct, indestructibility does not save sacrificed lands.

To be more precise, sacrifice by Paul Leicht at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 15:55
Paul Leicht's picture

To be more precise, sacrifice in this case is a cost which means it must be paid. Also It supersedes regeneration, indestructibility, protection and shroud. (You never are targeting things you sacrifice.) This is what makes Diabolic Edict such a good card for example.

Stoneforge Mystic by IcyManipulat0r (not verified) at Tue, 02/02/2010 - 16:34
IcyManipulat0r's picture

Basilisk Collar makes this card pretty ridiculous.