Hi all,
so the new set is fully revealed and I'm wondering why no one has become excited enough to start a discussion. I for myself am not very good at predicting how good a card might be, but there are definetely some cards that caught my attention (as a control player). These are:
1. Dig through Time + Treasure Cruise
I like both of them very much. They have the same CMC, one draws an additional card compared to the other and costs only U in the best case, the other costs at least UU but has instant speed and "tutors" the best two out of the top seven cards of your library (which is arguably a little stronger than "just" drawing three blind cards).
I've already been a fan of Tombstalker as finisher in my U/B(w) control deck and guess that Dig through Time will be another nice addition with the delve mechanic. More than two might be overkill, so Treasure Cruise might not make the cut.
2. Utter End
4 mana for a 1:1 trade doesn't sound too promising at first glance. However, I like that Esper Control gets another sorcery / instant - answer to permanents, especially planeswalkers, besides Unexpectedly Absent, Council's Judgment and Vindicate. I always loved O-Ring, D-Sphere and Banishing Light as an answer to early problematic permanents, but hated how fragile they were.
Now, with Utter End, Esper can maybe refrain from relying on the CMC-3 enchantments, replacing them by the named four spell-based answers and thus making room for overall board sweepers like Planar Cleasning, Akroma's Vengeance and Fated Retribution.
3. Sultai Charm
BUG Oath will love this. No need to run a one-sided answer like Nature's claim for Mystical Teachings anymore. And if it can't get the job done, it still digs at instant speed for a card that can handle the problematic situation.
4. Murderous Cut
The longer the game goes, the closer this gets to a non-conditional "B: Destroy target creature." Overall a very nice card in B's removal package. To get rid of an enemy Druid Hermit on the draw still requires you to play Innocent Blood or Fetchland + Ghastly Demise, but the other common choices (Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, Ultimate Price) also fail to save you in that situation.
5. Sharkan, the Dragonspeaker
This might serve as a nice finisher for Izzet control. It's more about his first and second ability to control the board if needed (Flametongue Kavu effect) and bashing for a solid 4 points of damage while being hard to remove.
6.Mantis Rider
(Maybe?) This will find its place in aggro-control strategies like URw Tempo. From my feeling, it looks pretty good, but can't really evaluate, if aggressive decks are satisfied with 3 power for CMC 3.
That's it from me so far, what cards are you guys excited about?
so the new set is fully revealed and I'm wondering why no one has become excited enough to start a discussion. I for myself am not very good at predicting how good a card might be, but there are definetely some cards that caught my attention (as a control player). These are:
1. Dig through Time + Treasure Cruise
I like both of them very much. They have the same CMC, one draws an additional card compared to the other and costs only U in the best case, the other costs at least UU but has instant speed and "tutors" the best two out of the top seven cards of your library (which is arguably a little stronger than "just" drawing three blind cards).
I've already been a fan of Tombstalker as finisher in my U/B(w) control deck and guess that Dig through Time will be another nice addition with the delve mechanic. More than two might be overkill, so Treasure Cruise might not make the cut.
2. Utter End
4 mana for a 1:1 trade doesn't sound too promising at first glance. However, I like that Esper Control gets another sorcery / instant - answer to permanents, especially planeswalkers, besides Unexpectedly Absent, Council's Judgment and Vindicate. I always loved O-Ring, D-Sphere and Banishing Light as an answer to early problematic permanents, but hated how fragile they were.
Now, with Utter End, Esper can maybe refrain from relying on the CMC-3 enchantments, replacing them by the named four spell-based answers and thus making room for overall board sweepers like Planar Cleasning, Akroma's Vengeance and Fated Retribution.
3. Sultai Charm
BUG Oath will love this. No need to run a one-sided answer like Nature's claim for Mystical Teachings anymore. And if it can't get the job done, it still digs at instant speed for a card that can handle the problematic situation.
4. Murderous Cut
The longer the game goes, the closer this gets to a non-conditional "B: Destroy target creature." Overall a very nice card in B's removal package. To get rid of an enemy Druid Hermit on the draw still requires you to play Innocent Blood or Fetchland + Ghastly Demise, but the other common choices (Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, Ultimate Price) also fail to save you in that situation.
5. Sharkan, the Dragonspeaker
This might serve as a nice finisher for Izzet control. It's more about his first and second ability to control the board if needed (Flametongue Kavu effect) and bashing for a solid 4 points of damage while being hard to remove.
6.Mantis Rider
(Maybe?) This will find its place in aggro-control strategies like URw Tempo. From my feeling, it looks pretty good, but can't really evaluate, if aggressive decks are satisfied with 3 power for CMC 3.
That's it from me so far, what cards are you guys excited about?