Artifacts and Lands
Fetchlands! The most exciting part of Zendikar, at least initially, had to be the enemy fetches. They have been long-anticipated, and I know I look forward to thumbing my nose at Wastelands while I fetch out a basic Forest and cast Tarmogoyf with it. Besides that, there are some cool new lands that do things, luckily none as strong as Treetop Village. If I were to count the damage Treetop Village has dealt me, compared to the damage I have done with Treetop Village, the ratio is probably like 30 to 1. Still, I like lands that do cool things, since they make the game much more enjoyable, and Zendikar delivers. On to the review!
As before, here are the scales I am using.
Constructed
5.0: Multi-format All-Star. Bitterblossom. Tarmogoyf.
4.0: Format staple. Mutavault. Baneslayer Angel.
3.0: Archetype staple. Mulldrifter. Scion of Oona.
2.0: Niche card. Sideboard or currently unknown archetype. Fracturing Gust. (Bear in mind that many cards fall into this “maybe” category, although explanation of why is obviously important)
1.0 It has seen play once. One with Nothing. (I believe it was “tech” vs Owling Mine, although fairly suspicious tech at that.)
Limited
5.0: I will always play this card. Period.
4.5: I will almost always play this card, regardless of what else I get.
4.0: I will strongly consider playing this as the only card of its color.
3.5: I feel a strong pull into this card’s color.
3.0: This card makes me want to play this color. (Given that I’m playing that color, I will play this card 100% of the time.)
2.5: Several cards of this power level start to pull me into this color. If playing that color, I essentially always play these. (Given that I’m playing that color, I will play this card 90% of the time.)
2.0: If I’m playing this color, I usually play these. (70%)
1.5: This card will make the cut into the main deck about half the times I play this color. (50%)
1.0: I feel bad when this card is in my main deck. (30%)
0.5: There are situations where I might sideboard this into my deck, but I’ll never start it. (10%)
0.0: I will never put this card into my deck (main deck or after sideboarding). (0%)
Constructed: 1
With an abundance of fetchlands, this is actually pretty close to being good enough, but Equipment needs to be pretty insane to show up in Constructed. The Gear being dead too easily is ultimately what rules it out.
Limited: 3.5
I initially undervalued the Gear, but that is mostly because I love blocking, and it doesn’t help much with that. Only the most defensive and creature-light decks will pass on this, and that sort of deck isn’t very common in this format. Most of the broken starts I’ve seen involve the Gear, since it comes down quickly and equips for just one mana.
Constructed: 2
Red-Black is not the color combination that is particularly interested in gaining a life, and all of the Black-based dual lands are weakened by the non-interaction between them and Mind Sludge. All of the lifegain lands are still “maybes”, since two-color decks might have to play EBTB duals anyway, and these are strictly better than a triland if you are just two of the colors.
Limited: 3.0
Great in Red-Black, even though not really that high a pick in a 2-color deck. These lands are fine, but not particularly exciting.
Constructed: 5
I’m not going to rank all the fetchlands separately, since they all serve the same purpose. Excellent in basically every format (expect Pauper), Landfall gives them a legitimate use in mono-color decks. It is a common misconception that playing fetches for land-thinning purposes was good in decks that they don’t help fix mana for, but now they are actually good. Even the Red decks that used 8 fetchlands in old Extended did so mainly to power Grim Lavamancer, not just thin. Anyways, fetchlands are good, get your set, etc.
Limited: 3.5
Fetches deserve a pretty high rating, even if I don’t know at what point they are worth taking over a good playable for your deck. If you have a lot of Landfall, they are great, even if they don’t fix mana. If they also help fix, I wouldn’t hesitate to take them pretty early. To be fair, you won’t often have the choice, since their price tag means they will really only get passed in team drafts and during big events (PTQ Top 8, Grand Prix, Pro Tour, although I took a Cranial Extraction 5th during PT London, so maybe they will just get snapped up anywhere).
Constructed: 1
I almost want to give every card with the word “Vampire” on it a 2 or greater, simply to avoid the comments that will inevitably pop up. People are in love with Vampires, and seem to view anything that references them through rose-tinted lenses. This relies on other creatures dying in order to give only the equipped creature a small bonus, which then goes away as soon as the creature dies or gets bounced. Vampires are plenty good now, so there is no reason to play situational stuff like this.
Limited: 1.5
There is a lot of bounce in this set, and games don’t seem to evolve into board stalls, both of which weaken the Blade. I don’t think its unplayable, but it hasn’t been very good so far, and it doesn’t seem consistent enough to be very exciting.
Constructed: 1
If the Vampires and Zombies are scared of the Torch, why is it possible for them to hold it? I suppose it is a colorless way of killing a Protection from X creature, but it is certainly no Aeliopile.
Limited: 3.5
Shock with the additional cost of tapping a guy is a welcome addition to any Limited deck, and the pseudo-evasion might even do something once in a while. The flavor of Zendikar is really spot-on, and this is just one of the many examples why.
Constructed: 1
The only thing you sacrifice by playing this is any chance of winning.
Limited: 0.5
Too expensive for its ability, the Altar might be a decent sideboard card against an extremely removal-heavy deck (or if you have more than one Bloodghast somehow). Otherwise, I would avoid the Altar, since it just takes too much time and mana to really be useful, and without damage stacking anymore doesn’t provide many opportunities to get 2 for 1s.
Constructed: 2
I would be very surprised if this saw any sort of play, but lands that produce multiple mana are always worth keeping in mind. Of course, decks with a lot of presumably cheap creatures can’t really make use of extra mana, which is the obvious problem with the Crypt.
Limited: 0.0
Not even worth the effort.
Constructed: 1
Even a super Glorious Anthem isn’t worth getting Abyss’ed every turn, especially given the rotation of Bitterblossom and Spectral Procession.
Limited: 1.5
The effect is undeniably powerful, but only if you can afford to lose a guy every turn, which just doesn’t seem like most games. Making your guys indestructible is nice, but when one dies each turn you still run out pretty quickly. I would rate this lower, but I haven’t played with it or seen it played, it being Mythic and all, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.
Constructed: 2
On the higher end of the “2” rating, Emeria has a powerful and very difficult to stop effect. Seven Plains is a lot, but the cost of having a land ETBT is pretty low, and sticking a few in is barely a problem. One of the best incentives to go Mono-White, this might actually be enough to justify that deck. Most control decks get ruined by this, since the game will go long enough for you to start bringing guys back, and there aren’t any ways to destroy it that I would really want to play.
Limited: 2.5
I would play this in any deck with seven or more Plains, since even if triggering it is a long shot, the cost isn’t very big. Only in Mono-White would I be too excited, and eight lands is still a fair number. White aggro would prefer to be monocolored anyway, so if you see Emeria you have a pretty good reason to go for that.
Constructed: 1
If this didn’t take an eternity to cast, it would be awesome, but very frustrating to play against. That also explains why it isn’t cheaper, although it might have been pretty interesting at five mana.
Limited: 1.5
Six mana isn’t an exorbitant amount, and if you can play this while at 8 or more life it is going to be pretty annoying to kill you. If you manage to drop it while at like 15, each land drop is going to represent an enormous headache for your opponent. Still, it is a six-drop that doesn’t really do anything on its own, and is of very little use in an aggro deck. This is another card I don’t think I can fully evaluate without seeing in action, as it could be quite a bit better than I am giving it credit for. I don’t think that when I make a statement to that effect I am hedging my bets, because I could care less about being wrong in a set review. I give that warning specifically on cards that I fear are only fully understood with more time, just as a warning to my readers. Most cards I feel I can evaluate accurately, but some are so different than anything I have seen that I don’t have a great basis for comparison, and therefore am less sure about.
Constructed: 2
A colorless Sylvan Scrying is worth taking notice of, even if it is horribly inefficient. Tron in Extended might be willing to pay three mana for any land, and the Map is a way to make Trinket Mage a little more useful as well. I doubt there is room for this in Standard, since the lands aren’t as powerful as in Extended. Any deck that would use this could probably just play another copy of whatever cool land it wants, although a deck trying to trigger Emeria might want a Map in order to find Emeria or a Plains, whichever it is missing.
Limited: 1.5
I would only play this if I was three colors or had an awesome rare land like Emeria, Valakut, or Oran-Rief. In a two-color deck, it just isn’t worth it.
Constructed: 1
Keep on looking.
Limited: 2.5
Pretty sick if you can equip it in the first few turns, and still live later in the game, the Scope is almost always going to make the cut. I wouldn’t play it in a deck with mostly large and expensive creatures, but that sort of deck is pretty rare in this format. If you have no way to use lands later in the game, such as Landfall or expensive cards, this loses a lot of value, but is probably still playable.
Constructed: 1
Every single time I see the Grappling Hook, I think: “get over here!” (By “here”, I do not mean Constructed, in any way, shape, or form).
Limited: 1.5
It seems like a bit of a stretch to have enough time to play Grappling Hook, equip it, and still have a big enough guy that Double Strike is a relevant ability. When I look at the card, I don’t see it letting my 4/4 murder their guys, I see Scorpion doing it. Then I think about a bounce or removal spell making me look like an idiot for spending eight mana and a card and having nothing to show for it, and put this back in my sideboard.
Constructed: 2
Slightly better color combination for this, but not really more to say.
Limited: 3.0
Sweet, I don’t have to write anything for more than the first for not one, but two cycles in this section.
Constructed: 1
Uh, something about scrabbling for playables (a group to which this does not belong).
Limited: 1.5
Pretty much the worst Grizzly Bears ever, I still have already played this once, and I’m not even deep into the format. It is a two-drop, and it does carry equipment, so sometimes you bite the bullet and run the little guy if you are scrabbling for playables (jokes don’t really get old for me, even if I just told them five minutes or one paragraph prior).
Constructed: 5
A staple in all formats, Islands can cast anything and everything that is awesome. There isn’t a format where Islands aren’t awesome; even in Vintage, the most powerful of formats, Islands are instrumental in lessening the impact of Wasteland. Sadly, the upcoming Standard looks like a pretty inhospitable place for Islands, so this old favorite might not see as much play as I would like.
Limited: 5.0
Hey, a 5.0 means “I will always play this card. Period.” Sounds like a good description of an Island to me! (I may joke about only playing Blue and all that, but I have actually put up way better results without any Islands in my decks, so when it comes down to it, I am willing to play what is best at the time, even if it isn’t a Blue deck).
Constructed: 2
Lifegain is not a tool UB usually gets, so this is one of the more interesting lands in this cycle.
Limited: 3.0
See previous entries, etc.
Constructed: 2
Two life is way more than one, but the conflict with Emeria means that Kabira Crossroads is probably only interesting in a multi-color White deck, in which case the Refuge cycle edges it out (non-allied color combinations may be the Crossroads’ only out). In any other color this would be a lot better, but the color pie pretty clearly dictates that this be White.
Limited: 3.0
If you are playing White, or even mono of some other color without a good reason like Spire Barrage, you should play this card every time. Much like most of the lands, not a really high pick, but it always makes the cut.
Constructed: 2.0
This cycle lets me take refuge from having to write new comments.
Limited: 3.0
See previous entries (still feels like cheating, but I legitimately don’t have anything to add that doesn’t apply to all of the lands in this cycle).
Constructed: 1.0
Getting two of your land drops destroyed in some manner is unreal bad, and even in the best case scenario, the Gem doesn’t really provide anything too exciting. The bouncelands were awesome because they provided this effect without costing anything but a land drop; having to pay four mana turns an efficient proposition into a losing one.
Limited: 3.0
Without Landfall, this would be a good card; with it you have a real gem. Paying four mana can be awkward, but the Gem provides a little fixing and a lot of mana, not to mention multiple Landfall triggers. In the unlikely event that your deck has nothing that costs six or more mana AND no Landfall nonsense, or even a Reckless Scholar, you can think about not playing this.
Constructed: 2
I’m sure everyone is clear about how this might be good in a control mirror. Other than that, I don’t really see any interesting applications, since comboing out with Garruk and Rings of Brighthearth or whatnot just isn’t realistic. Control decks that can afford one or two of their Islands coming into play tapped should probably throw a Magosi or two in, but that’s about it.
Limited: 0.0
There really is no way to gain an advantage out of Magosi in Limited.
Constructed: 5
Limited: 3.5
See Arid Mesa for details.
Constructed: 5
This is about five dollars better than any of the others, thanks to Tarmogoyf.
Limited: 3.5
Constructed: 3
The most promising interaction is definitely with Kitchen Finks in Extended, but Oran-Rief might provide a decent amount of value in just a normal Green Standard deck. There are now a lot of good lands that reward decks that can afford to play ETBT lands, which is awesome.
Limited: 3.5
Tacking on a mana to all your Green creatures is definitely worth it, particularly since you can always pass on the bonus if need be. This land is more than just an incidental bonus – pick it highly.
Constructed: 1
This is not one of the cool lands I just mentioned; 1 damage can’t possibly be worth it. Also, I already used the “marsh better” joke on Marsh Casualties, which sucks.
Limited: 0.0
Much like in Constructed, the upside of a point of damage is just not big enough to make up for the potential losses due to the drawback.
Constructed: 5
Limited: 3.5
Finally, we can get a Mountain in our Vintage decks!
Constructed: 2
Limited: 3.0
This is just too easy!
Constructed: 1
Unless I’m overlooking some bizarre combo, this won’t be jumping any animals in Constructed.
Limited: 3.0
Best in a non-Blue deck, the Seacliff more than earns its spot. Multiple times I have even seen it Jump an opposing creature for the archer Ally to shoot down.
Constructed: 1
This is actually a hidden trap, and it gets anyone who tries to play it.
Limited: 0.5
You would have to be pretty desperate to side this in, but I can see some matchups where it just might be ok. Maybe. Probably not.
Constructed: 1
The last time a vanilla artifact creature got played in non-affinity decks was when Chimeric Idol was around, and even that wouldn’t be close to good enough now. It probably would have been faster to just write “no”, but not nearly as much fun.
Limited: 2.0
I have been actually pretty impressed with the Puma, since Grey Ogre isn’t that far outside the realm of playability, and he can be much more than that. The decks that want him can usually get him late, although don’t get too greedy. Even one or two other allies probably justifies the Puma most of the time.
Constructed: 2
Piranha Marsh is crap, but start talking 2 damage and you have my interest. Mono-Red decks that don’t play Valakut are likely to add in some Peaks, and right now the Peaks seem to be more interesting.
Limited: 3.0
Another one of the better lands in this cycle, the Peaks are worth splashing if your mana is good enough. Sometimes +2/+0 is more than just two damage, since it lets a small guy bluff his way past a bigger one.
Constructed: 1
One thing these boots were not made for is Constructed play.
Limited: 1.5
I would never maindeck these, but siding them in against a deck with multiple nonbasics isn’t the worst idea. If your guys are big enough, ship them some boots and let them start the beating.
Constructed: 1
Trust me, at 1 to play and 1 to equip, this would have been a legitimate Constructed card. Sadly, 1 mana is going to be enough to keep the knife in the drawer.
Limited: 4.0
The best of all the new Equipment, the Machete makes any old idiot into a beater, and makes a good creature into an enormous threat. This is exactly what I’m talking about when I mention how Equipment can justify random small creatures, since +2/+1 is huge. I thought Vulshok Morningstar was one of the best cards in 9th Edition Limited, and this is not much weaker.
Constructed: 1
If Oran-Rief is the ocean view, Turntimber Grove is the room facing an alleyway full of dumpsters. Why settle for inferior real estate?
Limited: 2.5
The extra point of damage isn’t that exciting, but the possibility of letting small guys get through slightly larger ones elevates this above Piranha Marsh territory.
Constructed: 2
There are only two decks that are interested in Valakut. Extended ones with Scapeshift, and Mono-Red decks that intend to use it like it was mainly intended. I don’t know if either is good enough, but Valakut seems like it will see some play regardless. Aggressive Red decks will prefer Teetering Peaks, but a control Red deck will definitely lean towards the Pinnacle.
Limited: 3.0
Like Emeria, except slightly easier to trigger and much less devastating. Any deck with enough Mountains to even trigger Valakut once should run it, since mise. A good reason to play Mono-Red, etc.
Constructed: 5
Limited: 3.5
Looks like quittin’ time is one card early today.
Top Five Artifacts/Lands for Constructed
5. Verdant Marsh
4. Marsh Flats
3. Scalding Tarn
2. Arid Mesa
1. Misty Rainforest
Ok, that probably isn’t a very interesting list, but it is technically accurate.
.
.
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The Real Top Five Artifacts/Lands for Constructed
5. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
4. Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
3. Emeria, the Sky Ruin
2. Teetering Peaks
1. Fetchlands
I guess I could have called the list the “Top Five Lands”, since the artifacts in this set don’t really lend themselves to Constructed play. I’m happy with this section, since having interesting lands is instrumental in the health of a format. The fixing in Standard feels pretty good now, with enough to make multicolor decks viable, but not so much that we will see crap like Cruel Ultimatum and Cloudthresher in the same deck (yes, I know that Cloudthresher rotated, but UURRBBB and GGGG was the most ridiculous combination of mana I had ever seen in a deck that intended to cast all its spells). Getting lands with abilities is also awesome, since it reduces the impact of mana flood, letting us play with more lands, and therefore reducing the odds of manascrew. Everybody wins!
I would put a list of my top Zendikar cards for Constructed here, but I just did a video on my pick for Top 8, and I don’t want to steal my own thunder. Hey, I figure writing over 20,000 words in a week should be enough (now I have a reason to not look forward to a new set coming out!), so I will leave it at that. I enjoyed looking at all the cards, and even if doing it all in one week was a little much, I actually just like to complain more than anything. As I write this, I’m only hours away from boarding a flight to Australia (via New Zealand via Los Angeles, with some nice layovers to match), where I’m going for Grand Prix: Melbourne. I don’t know what I would rather open; a Black Lotus or six bomb rares, although let’s be real; I’m hoping for both.
Great series of articles, definitely agree with you on the potential Constructed and limited implications on Island. It’s just so broken ;).
Glad to hear you’ll be at GP Melbourne next week. I hope I can get a chance to meet you there.
ThatDamnAussie
Comment by @ThatDamnAussie — October 3, 2009 @ 6:04 am
Great breakdown LSV. The only thing i didn’t agree with was the Eldrazi Monument in limited rating. You will understand how this card is game over once you play it. The best part about the Monument is that it gives all of your fatties flying, for the win usually. The +1 / +1 and indestructibility are just icing on the cake. Anyways, great job on all of these breakdowns and keep up the good work.
Comment by Cousin Larry — October 3, 2009 @ 7:06 am
Nice work on the series of articles, has been appreciated.
Advocating Jump is awesome.
- Ged
Comment by Ged — October 3, 2009 @ 7:52 am
Your Limited scale seems to break down a bit on artifacts because they require no color commitment. Going strictly by the scale, Blazing Torch and Trusty Machete should be 4.5, since they go into any deck with creatures. Your description of Khalni Gem in particular matches your standards for 4.5 (i.e. “I will almost always play this card, regardless of what else I get”).
In contrast, the 3.0 - 3.5 standard isn’t really relevant when you’re talking about Artifacts, since they don’t have much effect on your color choice.
If you think ‘archetype’ instead of ‘color’, the scale makes a good bit more sense. Trusty machete is a weenie-friendly card that is still strong when it gets ’splashed’ into other archetypes (4.0). Khalni Gem is a large incentive to draft Landfall cards (3.0). Stonework Puma will almost always be played if you’re drafting Allies (2.5). Hedron Scrabbler sometimes misses the cut even in a Landfall deck (1.5). etc.
Comment by Bucky — October 3, 2009 @ 8:20 am
LSV, thank you for all your thoughts!
By the way, one small issue: unfortunately, Blazing Torch does not get around protection because it grants the ability to your creature. So, your creature can’t target their creature with protection.
Comment by bog frog — October 3, 2009 @ 9:02 am
Great articles. I regularly read SCG.com and a friend of mine told me to check out this site. Its a little frustrating to me how much better the articles are here…and free. While I may disagree with a few card evaluations here and there, your reasons are always informative and it is incredibly helpful to understand the way you think about cards. Not to mention, your great sense of humor is a huge bonus. Thanks for all the words, and good luck in Melbourne!
Comment by Matt — October 3, 2009 @ 9:31 am
@Bog Frog: Re-read Blazing Torch. It actually says T, Sacrifice Blazing Torch: Blazing Torch deals two damage…etc. So it IS colorless removal.
Comment by Matt — October 3, 2009 @ 9:36 am
About Carnage Altar: you have forgotten the idea of chump blocking with small guys late game, wich is something that might add some ranking for it in limited.
Comment by Kenseiden — October 3, 2009 @ 10:38 am
Man, that’s awesome, u did a great work. Thanks from Russia, good luck on events.
Comment by Eleven — October 3, 2009 @ 10:39 am
Love the Mortal Kombat reference and the conclusion… good job on the series, Luis.
Comment by Jeremy Fuentes — October 3, 2009 @ 10:51 am
@bog frog: the torch is the source of the damage, so it does indeed get around protection from [color].
Great series! I like that you took the time to comment on every card, even if it was only a pun for the unplayables.
Comment by Daniel — October 3, 2009 @ 11:21 am
If you are underrating Eldrazi Monument because it “isn’t worth getting Abyss’ed every turn”, then you are playing this card wrong. You should be getting, AT MOST, one more turn after this hits play.
Comment by orion — October 3, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
Aside from the pseudo-reprints Day of Judgement and the fetchlands, there was only a single card that got a 4 (Burst Lightning), and no 5’s at all for constructed. Is the power level of Zendikar really that low?
Comment by Jonas — October 3, 2009 @ 12:17 pm
Eldrazi Monument wins games by granting all your guys flying and indestructble, with the pump being a small bonus. Generally, when you play Eldrazi Monument, it wins you the game like overrun.
Comment by Kevin — October 3, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
Bog Frog: while you are correct that the torch gives the creature the ability, the torch is actually what does the damage, so the torch would still get around pro-colors, or even pro-creatures.
Comment by J — October 3, 2009 @ 1:00 pm
I think its awesome that the best target for the grappling hook is the stupid scorpion. Would not be surprised if the Scorpion was added to the file simply for the grappling hook interaction
Comment by adam prosak — October 3, 2009 @ 1:36 pm
Spidersilk Net
Limited: 0.5
You would have to be pretty desperate to side this in, but I can see some matchups where it just might be ok. Maybe. Probably not.
Yeah, I thought so too. Today in release, I had a draft deck with two sphinx of jwar isle, four welkin tern, kor skyfisher, that 3/3 uncommon angel, lots of defensive men, two makindi shieldmate, gomazoa, ox, and so on. It looked like, while having some subpar cards to be a 6-0 deck, based on the reviews of several very good players. I went 4-2. My both match losses, three games in total, were SOLELY due to Spidersilk net. With a big enough dude equipping it, my sphinxes were dead on their tracks. With ANY dude equipping it, my early welkin tern assault just died there and then, unless I wanted to let one die to get damage through. It was sick and disheartening. I had into the roil and 2 paralyzing grasps, no spot removal or artifact removal. Trust for the sake of argument at least that I played rather well in the tournament. Yes, it can be good in some matchups…..
Comment by Jussi — October 3, 2009 @ 2:33 pm
I find Explorer’s Scope really interesting for Legacy, with Trinket Mage and stuff like Brainstorm, Ponder and Sensei’s Divining Top.
Comment by WinterN — October 3, 2009 @ 2:43 pm
re: Eldrazi Monument
Maybe in Sealed I can see this being as good as everyone else seems to feel it is, but the kind of draft games I have been experiencing have not been friendly to this card. Most games are relatively fast, and almost never end up in a board stall. Eldrazi Monument would be pretty terrible most of the time, and I think this is exactly the card of card people look at and evaluate in the best-case scenario. Again, Sealed is more hospitable to this kind of effect, but my experience drafting has me putting this pretty close to unplayable, or at the very least difficult to use.
@Bucky
I felt exactly the same way about the rating scale, but I figured that switching to a new scale in the last part of a set review would be more confusing than it was worth. Hopefully my explanations of each card will let you gauge its worth accurately, somewhat useless scale and all.
@Jonas
Constructed 5’s are pretty rare; I mean how many Tarmogoyfs and Bitterblossoms can there really be at once. I haven’t looked at how Zendikar is compared to previous sets, but it doesn’t feel that bad; I guess the 5’s all being reprints and the 4’s being scarce is something, but Constructed is harsh.
@prosak
My god, you are a genius.
Comment by lsv — October 3, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
@Blazing Torch
The torch does the damage, but the equipped creature still needs to target something to try and kill it, so it doesn’t get around Protection from (Stuff). Targeting is the problem, not damage prevention.
@lsv: Top5 - Arid Mesa over Scalding Tarn? Really?
Comment by joseph — October 3, 2009 @ 4:40 pm
Blazing Torch attached to, say, a Torch Slinger would NOT (really not) enable Torch Slinger to kill a Silver Knight — regardless of the fact that Blazing Torch is an artifact and not red, it gives the equipped creature an activated ability, and Silver Knight can’t be the target of an activated ability from a red source.
Really.
Comment by Alex — October 3, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
i’d actually like a judge’s ruling on the Blazing Torch. Lets say i put it on my white dude. My white dude has the ability. “T ,Sacrifice Blazing Torch:Blazing Torch deals 2 damage to Target Creature.”
Can i kill a black knight?
There is the word TARGET in that ability. As far as i understand you must announce a legal target when playing a targeted ability. i dont see how you could target a black knight with an ability from a white dude, regardless of the damage source. Seems like pretty strange wording.
Comment by locustkiller — October 3, 2009 @ 6:21 pm
If there was more mass reanimation, then Blood of the Bladechief would be ace.
It can be used for more than the odd situational use; you can sacrifice your own creatures.. Ahem.. Vampires with Vampire Aristocrat, or just go all out attacking on your upcoming turns, forcing them to block & kill off your creature. Another idea is to have Soul Stair Expedition in play.. OR.. integrate some amount of control. ;]
Comment by j. — October 3, 2009 @ 6:49 pm
* The source of the damage is Blazing Torch, not the equipped creature. However, the equipped creature’s ability is what targets the creature or player. If Blazing Torch is equipped to a red creature, for example, the ability couldn’t target a creature with protection from red. It could target a creature with protection from artifacts, but all the damage would be prevented.
- from the Zendikar FAQ
Comment by Simon J — October 3, 2009 @ 6:55 pm
Magosi has interesting applications in Time sieve LSV
Comment by Greg — October 3, 2009 @ 8:20 pm
@lsv:
How hard would it have been to include a paragraph at the top saying “Since Artifacts don’t require a color commitment, I will use a slightly different scale for rating them…”
Comment by Bucky — October 3, 2009 @ 8:22 pm
If you haven’t heard, Magosi + Smokestack is a pretty sick combo.
Comment by kryogen — October 3, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
Monument is still insane draft as far as I have seen. Windborn Charge is an oft played finisher, and if nothing else this does much of the same.
I would be interested in an article on the control archetypes in the limited format. So far every good deck I have seen (at decent tables) have been all aggro strategies.
Comment by Lucas Siow — October 3, 2009 @ 9:48 pm
Zendikar Set Review - Artifacts and Lands…
Your story has been summoned to the battlefield - Trackback from MTGBattlefield…
Trackback by MTGBattlefield — October 3, 2009 @ 10:13 pm
Spidersilk Net is perhaps the most underrated limited card in the set. I suggest you play with it before you judge it so harshly.
Comment by Sean — October 3, 2009 @ 10:51 pm
Eldrazi monument constructed rating is off. Should be a 2.0, green/white tokens will use it as a finisher making it a niche card and it works well in an agro vs. agro sideboard for vampires or goblins. Combos nicely with goblin assault, I think it will see a little play (more than once, for sure).
Having monument + wrath is broken too.
Comment by Jethro — October 4, 2009 @ 12:06 am
With magosi you can get a situation where opponent does not attack you late in the game; you give them another turn and now if he does attack, you get 2 turns of an attack back.
Comment by mrmath — October 4, 2009 @ 12:23 am
As for Eternity Vessel, I went 5-1 during the release with a really nice U/W deck full of fliers, plus day of judgement and eternity vessel. Eternity vessel flat-out stole every game I played it save one, and even then, it kept me alive while set at 21 counters against an army of 3 allies plus a kazuul warlord for around 10 turns; sadly, my DoJ was near the bottom of the deck, but I was still really impressed by it. It certainly wasn’t the focus of the deck, but it was an easy win when it did come around. I didn’t really have any bombs, though, and I’d certainly rather have something like Emeria Angel.
Comment by Jacob — October 4, 2009 @ 12:33 am
@Sean- I am sure LSV has drafted plenty of times with the new set, especially since the tour is a split format….
Magosi is horribad in constructed….If you havent read the card correctly like I didnt when I first seen it, it says skip your next turn. So even after you activate it maybe during the same turn you used it, it just doesnt do anything but bounce itself. Rings is basically the only way to break it.
I havent drafted with alot of good players, mostly have with really casual ones besides 2 friends of mine and my drafts are just amazing. I ended up with 6 Geopedes and 4 of the 5/2 3cc guys in the same deck….oh yeah Valukut as well… I know I will not end up with those kind of drafts in PTQ top8’s or day2 at GP’s but its just nuts. I think also a good way of preparing for limited is Sealed and Draft testing. The way I have tested sealed is myself and 1 or 2 others open up 6 packs and basically build a deck out of it…then we play about 5 to 10 games and evaluate then replay it…..Testing for drafts gets a little complicated but we cracked 6 boxes and would open a pack at the same time, go through and pick the best 3 or 4 cards in the pack and ask the others what they think and tell them what your pick is and why. It opens your mind alot as well….white has the most 1st pick cards and the print runs can be horrible. There were so many times that we evaluated a pack and would pick the 2nd best card because the goods were so deep in the color we knew it would be cut immediately 2nd pack…also its nice to have the others duke it out over a color when your not even in it.
I have to also agree with LSV that the monument isnt that great. Its a finisher but usually you will be playing against somebody that has a trick for something like that. Whiplash trap just seems to own the card and I think its underrated by alot of people. Also Into the Roil is amazing. Most decks are not gonna be able to puke out alot of dudes that havent had removal/bounce used on them to make the monument just amazingly broken. Its one of those cards that you gotta take but its hard sometimes. I would definately pass it over a 1st pick anytime.
Comment by Tuffy — October 4, 2009 @ 1:43 am
I really appreciate all you rwork on the series and I think it was really well done. Punny-ness aside however I’m not sure that this format of set review is the best way to go.
Instead of going card by card for both limited and constructed I think it would be more informative (and certainly easier for you to right) if you just spend one column discussing cards you think are constructed worthy and another on commons and uncommons in limited.
As informative as it is to read that stonework puma isn’t playable in Standard and that magosi probably shouldn’t make your draft deck I think you time can be better spent.
thanks again for your hard work and creating my new favorite MTG site
Comment by KJ_4247 — October 4, 2009 @ 3:10 am
I was going to point out that Blazing Torch thingy, but now I see that has been covered.
The Time Walk land however is just underrated. You can skip a boring turn to make sure you get an exciting one later on. Like if you have a superior creature that they cannot attack into, you can skip a blank turn and then attack and Time Walk so that your defenses are back in place. Even though it doesn’t cause any net gain, it allows you to “take your time” if I may.
The other thing regards Valakut. Or Piranha Marsh, as you wish. Mising with Valakut in a 2c-deck is so unlikely that it will actually have less of an effect than Piranha Marsh. So either consider putting both in your deck, or neither. Personally, I like utility lands a good deal and would prefer the Marsh to a Swamp. In fact, it might be better than the green one because you get the bonus even if you play them on turn 1. Just something to keep in mind when evaluating the abilities of those cards; I mean, 1 life loss will constitute between 5% and 100% of their life total
Comment by TrashT — October 4, 2009 @ 7:47 am
Loved the MKII reference. Ahh, the fingers still twitch to B,Up,Up,HP…
Great series of articles! Thanks for the hard work and effort. Can’t wait to see some Zen draft videos. Good luck down under. If you’re in NZ for any amount of time, find a Fergburger or the Loaded Hog.
Comment by Marc — October 4, 2009 @ 8:35 am
Sorry for the double post: Have been playing with Eldrazi + Emeria in a mono-W soldier token deck (not saying it’s tier 1) but Enduring Renewal-ing a Captain of the Watch is fun. Especially with PTE, DOJ, Marital Coup, Conqueror’s Pledge and Honor the Pure thrown in.
Comment by Marc — October 4, 2009 @ 8:41 am
I think your assessment of Magosi is right on, as much as I desperately want to see it broken. As much as I usually hate what you say (since I’m a tight-wad when it comes to money.. paid $4 for my only BoP, $1 for my white border strip mine, etc, etc. if that gives you some idea), I have to agree with it.
Comment by Wes — October 4, 2009 @ 1:57 pm
You don’t have to use Rings with Magosi. Any 2 untap effects will do.
Comment by mike — October 4, 2009 @ 2:25 pm
jesus lsv, pirhana marsh is GOOD
Comment by sneakyhomunculous — October 4, 2009 @ 3:34 pm
You cant use untap effects with magosi, you have to return it to your hand as part of the cost.
Comment by PapaKap — October 4, 2009 @ 10:05 pm
Why would using an untap effect like Garruk help Magosi? It returns it to your hand as part of its cost, so it wouldn’t be around to target with said effect.
I would almost say that I see this getting used a lot with Smokestack or in other situations that the old Chronotog decks tried to abuse by skipping the rest of their turns (before Tog was made to not work that way). You’d only be able to really skip every other turn with it, but I guess some type of untap on opponents turn effect like Seedborn Muse could be used with it to skip the rest of your turns for certain effects. Not sure if that’d still be a viable style of win here ten/twelve years later.
Comment by C0LD L0GIC — October 4, 2009 @ 10:55 pm
I like the review, however, I can’t take your Joke “top 5″ list or your Real “top 5″
list seriously. That was kind of a let down, but the initial explanation of each card was very accurate and satisfying.
Comment by Conley #1 — October 5, 2009 @ 12:13 am
Just a note to people playing Mono-Red Ball Lightning-based decks… I ran one this past FNM using the Valakut angle, and while ultimately, the deck rolled the other more unprepared decks (people didn’t have their Zendikar cards yet), I kept thinking “boy, this Valakut will sure be a nice win condition if one of my opponents is ever super controlly and somehow stalls my lightning-speed deck out. And perhaps this is true, except even though I had Valakut out almost every game, the best I ever did was get to exactly 5 mountains before winning, thus never triggering Valakut (not once).
That said, I plan on going the Teetering Peaks route (which I should have done all along). Turn two, 3/1 Hellspark. Turn three, 5/1 Hellspark. Turn 4 8/1 Ball Lightning (assuming you get two of your four peaks early)… you get the picture.
Comment by Andy — October 5, 2009 @ 4:49 am
The main thing about Stonework Puma is that he blocks and trades with the intimidate guys (Guul Draz Vampire, that stupid Boar, and the Surrakar Marauder). To a lesser extent the same is true of the Scrabbler.
Comment by MH — October 5, 2009 @ 9:12 am
I played Emeria through 6 rounds at the prerelease with 8-9 plains and harrow in my deck. I went 5-1 but I was never even remotely close to using this card (even if I had preplaced the g/w dual and the “gain2life” land with plains). Not worth it unsless playing monowhite or near monowhite in my opinion.
Comment by Sebastian — October 5, 2009 @ 10:26 am
Two important points of contrast on the Peaks/Kut discussion: Peaks tend to be much better in multiples, as Valakuts in Multiples are non-mountain lands for the first Valakut.
Peaks strengthens you where you are already strong (early and midgame) whereas Valakut gives you reach in another situation (Phase III/lategame), which would seemingly be an argument for Valakut. However, Peaks are such an integral part of the early threat that to remove Peaks and add Valakut is to make your matchups against the majority of the field worse to shore up the matchups against 1-2 specific decks. It’s just not +EV. Peaks are win.
Luis, thanks for the series of articles. See you in a couple of weeks. Won’t be there this Saturday sadly but Austin-ho!
Comment by Shyft- — October 5, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
I know you’re not going to read this way at the bottom but, magosi can be very decent in limited. Lets say you’re blue green, and you’ve got magosi up. You’ve got the 5/6 wurm and you’re staring down some aggressive creatures that can’t really gang block the 5/6. magosi is amazing there. It can get hard with an aggressive deck to really make a move once blue green has stabilized. Thats when you can really push your advantage with it.
Comment by drbolick — October 5, 2009 @ 5:35 pm
Is the marsh not worth running if you have a couple vampires that need your opp at 10 or less life?
“There really is no way to gain an advantage out of Magosi in Limited.” I have to disagree, especially in sealed you just wait until your opponent has a turn where he didn’t do much, give him another, and as soon as you have some action you take two in a row. Its not amazing, and will often go unused, but its still worth running over an island for the potential.
Also I’m pretty sure Eternity Vessel is a bomb, its won every game I’ve seen it played it. If you can play it turn 6 you’ll usually be at 10+ life, then you just hold land for the rest of the game. As soon as you go low enough for them to kill you, go back up. Its really hard for most decks to deal 10+ damage in one swing.
Comment by Jester123 — October 6, 2009 @ 9:10 am
hahaha, what a great last line. loved the part about island too.
Comment by Fliegen — October 6, 2009 @ 8:10 pm