Rare Situations
Since the current PTQ format is Zendikar Limited, I am going to stick with that subject for one more week. By now you’re probably fairly familiar with the commons in the set. If you’re not, go back and take a look at LSV’s article Rebooting my Draft Strategy. The pick orders he gives are very good, and the only real difference in my opinion is I consider Welkin Tern to be the second best Blue common after Umara Raptor. On the other hand, you might not be too familiar with the rares. Unless you’re a drafting fiend, you have probably only encountered each one a couple of times, so I’m going to share with you my thoughts on all of the rares of Zendikar.
Unless otherwise mentioned, all comparisons are assumed to be Pick 1 Pack 1
Black
Bala Ged Thief – I would take her after a Hideous End or Disfigure but before Surrakar Marauder. Obviously she gets better as your ally count gets higher, but the really nice thing about her is that she’s perfectly fine even if she’s the only ally in your entire deck, and she should always make your deck.
Bloodghast – I would not take him over any of the top 5 black commons (Hideous End, Disfigure, Surrakar Marauder, Giant Scorpion, or Heartstabber Mosquito). His recursion can make him tough to deal with, but a lot of the time there will be a three toughness creature on your opponent’s side of the board, rendering him fairly useless. With every removal you already have he gets better. I will always play him in a Black-Red or Black-Blue deck but will often leave him in the sideboard of a Black-Green or Black-White deck.
Guul Draz Specter – I take him after Hideous End but over Disfigure. All around very strong, he should always make your deck no matter which color combination you are.
Halo Hunter – I take him after Hideous End, Disfigure, and Surrakar Marauder. You have to evaluate his triple-Black requirement when drafting him, so he can fluctuate a lot in pick order. In mono-Black he could easily jump Marauder but probably not Disfigure in terms of quality, whereas if you’re Black-Green or White-Green with heavy mana requirements you may want to draft Heartstabber or Scorpion over him. As long as you’re playing at least eight Black sources I would always have him in my main deck, but be ready to board him out against heavy Black decks where he might seem somewhat ineffective if his mana requirement is already making him not that spectacular in your deck.
Malakir Bloodwitch - Automatic first pick. I would never take Hideous End over her. Always take her and always play her. The only thing you should be comparing her to is a Vampire Nighthawk, in which case I think the Nighthawk is a little bit better. I would take a look at your curve and Vampire count; feel free to go either way on the decision.
Blood Tribute - Completely unplayable, please don’t try and run this in Limited, even if you have a lot of vampires.
Sadistic Sacrament – Completely unplayable.
Bloodchief Ascension – I wouldn’t take this over any of the top 5 Black commons. I think it looks a lot better than it is. You cannot make too many sacrifices to get it in online, because it doesn’t outright win you the game once online, especially if you have thrown away a lot of resources getting it there. I generally don’t maindeck it but it could be a nice sideboard card against an overly slow deck.
Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet – I take him after Marauder and I almost always play him. I know some people consider him a solid sealed deck bomb but too slow for draft, but I disagree. Sometimes you get a little flooded, especially in a format where you’re generally playing eighteen lands, not much kills him, and he outright wins any game once he gets going.
Ob Nixilis, the Fallen - Automatic first pick, always take him and always play him. A true bomb who can win almost any game.
Sorin Markov – I consider Sorin the best card in the set for Limited play.
Blue
Archive Trap – Unless you’re the mill deck it’s unplayable. If you are the mill deck it’s definitely going to be better than any of the Blue commons. The mill deck is tough to get and not all that spectacular unless you really get a lot of Crabs, Archive Traps, and Trapmaker’s Snares. I would draft it sparingly, but the once every 100+ drafts or so when it stares you in the face, don’t be afraid to go for it.
Archmage Ascension – Completely unplayable.
Cosi’s Trickster – Completely unplayable.
Lullmage Mentor – I would never take him over any of the top 5 blue commons (Umara Raptor, Welkin Tern, Into the Roil, Windrider Eel, or Whiplash Trap), but a 3 mana 2/2 is ok, so if you have a few counters feel free to put him in your main deck. While I am on the subject the counters, both are pretty good (Cancel and Summoner’s Bane), and you should generally be playing them in your decks. Don’t try and draft draw-go Blue with 10 of them, they don’t get better in multiples, but 1 or 2 copies of either counter is generally going to be a positive for your deck.
Roil Elemental - I take him after Umara Raptor and Welkin Tern, but before Into the Roil. I know this is going to shock a lot of you, and he is a legitimate game winning bomb, but he still is expensive and dies very easily. Being in your hand the whole game then dying to a Disfigure can cost you a game just as easily as his positive abilities can win it for you. He’s much better in sealed than draft, though he is still good in both. I would never have him in my sideboard, but I do prefer the cheap efficient Blue flyers in most decks. The exception would probably be Blue-Green landfall where you generally try and be somewhat defensive and win with your bombs in the late game.
Sea Gate Loremaster - I take him after Umara Raptor, Welkin Tern, Into the Roil, and Windrider Eel, but before Whiplash Trap, which should give you an idea of how good I think this card is. He fits into the good Blue commons, but is not ahead of the better ones. Obviously he gets better with your ally count, but less obviously his quality is actually more dependent on your removal count. If you can’t kill things, a card like this will do very little to help you win games when you’re even just a little bit behind. On the other hand, if you can nuke a few critters then play him you’ll be in a strong position to win most games. Always play him but do not generally draft him above the cheap efficient flyers.
Sphinx of Jwar Isle - If Sorin is not the best card in the set, then this guy is. Take nothing over it ever, and always play it.
Sphinx of the Lost Truths - Also an amazing bomb. Always take it and always play it.
Rite of Replication – Better than any of the Blue commons. Not a bomb like the pair of Sphinxes; I would always take Nighthawk over it, but unless I had a very high ally count I couldn’t see taking Raptor over it. While Rite isn’t particularly overpowered, it is extremely flexible, acting as a pseudo-removal when copying your opponent’s best creature, helping you put a game away by copying yours, or outright winning just about any game if you can get to nine mana. A fine first pick and you should always play it.
Lorthos, the Tidemaker – Never take him over any of the top five good Blue commons in draft. In sealed I wouldn’t look to play Blue specifically for him (and I am very big on playing my bombs), but I would always play him. In draft I would use him very sparingly in a deck that has no late game but a lot of defense or as a sideboard card versus a deck you think the game might stalemate against.
Mindbreak Trap – Very good against Dragonstorm opponents. In Limited, however, it should be a sideboard card if your deck is considerably faster than your opponents and he has a Marsh Casualties (for example) that he can blow you out wit,h or multiple 5 and 6 mana bombs.
Green
Beastmaster Ascension – Not really playable. I say “really” here as opposed to completely unplayable because yes, you can make it work. In a Blue-Green deck with a lot of Hatchlings and Cobra Traps and evasion creatures, with some defense thrown in, you can make it work. That said you shouldn’t be taking this card early or trying to make it work unless it’s a fun draft. In a tournament I would only look for it after feeling like it fits very well into the deck I already have.
Gigantiform – An automatic first pick bomb. In my opinion this is Green’s best card in the set. Rampaging Baloths may be more powerful, but it’s considerably slower. There are so many games where you just play aggressively, your opponent taps his mana, and you slap this down and win.
Oracle of Mul Daya – Better than any of the Green commons. In a really ally-heavy deck I would take the Survivalist over him, but p1p1 I think he is the pick. You really get through your lands quickly and he almost assures you not to draw many more lands over the course of the game. Mix him with some landfall or shuffle effects like Frontier Guide and you have a home run.
Predatory Urge – Better than any of the Green commons. This may still be a hidden gem or everyone may know how good it is, depending on where you live. If they don’t know how good this card is you can teach them by beating them with it. On any 2/3 or bigger this card is a huge game. Did you notice how many pingers there are in this set? Wizards is fairly smart with designing sets these days, and this bad boy wins games. Draft it early and always play it.
Scute Mob – A first pick. I know this is getting repetitive in Green, but unlike Black and Hideous End, the Green commons are all very solid and good but unspectacular. Scute Mob is solid, good, and spectacular. If you have not had him yet he grows and grows and grows. Attacking as a 5/5 on turn six or a 9/9+ later, all for the hefty price of one Green mana, he goes a long way to win games. If you get him you might want to draft Vines of Vastwood even higher for the rest of the draft to protect him.
Summoning Trap – This should never be drafted over any of the good Green commons. You might play it if you have an abundance of bombs, but in that case another six mana card is hardly what your deck needs. On the other hand, it is a nice sideboard card versus counters.
Terra Stomper - Another auto first pick from Green. I think he is pretty self explanatory; he fits into any Green deck well and gives you a great body for his cost.
Turntimber Ranger – A first pick. Obviously like most allies he gets much better in an ally-heavy deck. That said, if he is the only ally in your deck he is still better than of the Green commons. A strong overall card, he should always be drafted early and always be played, even in non-ally decks.
Lotus Cobra – I do consider Cobra a first pick over the Green commons. On the other hand, I would not first pick him over Burst Lightning or Hideous End. As you’re probably noticing, he is good in Constructed but not the god he was first thought to be. I think he is pretty much the same in Limited; a very nice card but not a bomb.
Ramping Baloths – Now this is a Limited bomb. He is a little slow, but even if you suspect that your opponent is holding removal you can wait for turn seven to play him and still get a 4/4. If they don’t have it, he can take over the game. Draft him highly and always play him.
Nissa Revane- Not an early pick, but the kind of card that I think you can make work. If you open it in pack two and you already have 2 Nissa’s Chosen, then Revane’s ability to search them out and gain you life can definitely positively impact your game. Additionally you can try and end up with 5+ elves and it could be a solid card in your deck. That said you can only play her some of the time (when your elf count is somewhere around five or more in a format without that many elves) so more often than not do not draft her early and do not play her.
Red
Electropotence – Not better than any of the top 5 Red commons, Electropotence can be great in sealed deck but is a little too slow for draft. Electropotence would be good in a control deck designed to play defense and stalemate the game, but those decks really just aren’t very good in Zendikar.
Elemental Appeal - Not better than of the top 5 Red commons unless you’re Mono-Red. It is too hard to consistently cast a card that has four of a given mana cost in a 2 color deck, since if you have 8-9 red sources in your deck then you would need roughly half of them to play this spell. If you’re drafting mono-Red than casting it is easy and it moves way up in my opinion. That decks main goal is to play very aggressively and then burn them out. I would take this after Burst Lightning, Spire Barrage, and Plated Geopede if I was mono red.
Goblin Guide – Not playable in Limited. This may come as a surprise to you if you have seen him in action in Extended or Standard, but those formats are not about getting smooth mana draws. Even in a 2-color format like Zendikar, whoever hits all their land drops and casts their spells when they want to is probably going to win. You do not want to do that for your opponent. Even if you have a really aggressive deck, I wouldn’t draft Guide and I wouldn’t play him.
Hellkite Charger - Automatic first pick. No need to waste space writing about a 6 mana 5/5 flying haste with a nice positive ability. Always take him and always play him.
Kazuul Warlord – Better than any of the Red commons. Yes, this includes Burst Lightning. Pick 1 pack 1 the chance that you will get an Ally deck where this guy is one of the most dominating possible cards makes him an auto first pick. That said, if it’s pack 3 and you are Red but have no allies, I would take Burst Lightning over him.
Lavaball Trap – Not better than any of the top five Red commons. LSV pointed out the kind of deck you can play this in. You need multiple Harrows and Expeditions. While you can make this card work it’s not playable in most of your Red decks so you don’t want to draft it early. Only use it if you have a lot of mana ramp and you feel like you’ll be able to cast it any time you draw it.
Pyromancer Ascension - Completely unplayable. I like to try and make cards work, but how many of the same spells are you going to have? Obviously if you actually have six or more of a good spell you can play this, but let’s be real here.
Chandra Ablaze - Take this after Plated Geopede. This card is good. You can first pick it and you can always play it. That said, it’s fairly situational. It does turn all your Red cards into 4 damage, which is extremely powerful, and it’s not hard to finish someone from 8 or even 12 life with this card, but it can sometimes do nothing. Since it’s situational I would prefer Burst Lightning or Plated Geopede which are pretty much always good.
Obsidian Fireheart - Another rare that’s behind Plated Geopede but ahead of the rest of the commons. This may surprise some of you who have had this guy and seen him be quite good. He is very good, but three Red is still rather difficult for a 2 color deck. If you are mono-Red he moves way up, probably even above Burst Lightning. In your standard two-color deck with 8-9 sources of Red I would not take him over Burst Lightning or Plated Geopede, but I would take him over Bladetusk Boar or Spire Barrage and I would always play him.
Warren Instigator - Not better than any of the top 5 Red commons. This little guy is perfectly playable but still tough to cast turn 2. Double strike can do some big things with equipment, so you may need to elevate his status accordingly. I don’t think early in a draft you want to take him hoping to end up with the Red-White equipment deck though. I would rather take a Bladetusk Boar or Torch Slinger that I know is always going to be good. Still a fine mid-pack pick up, and you should always play him if your mana can support a Red double color 2 drop.
White
Armament Master - After Steppe Lynx but before Kor Hookmaster. He requires a lot of equipment and Kor creatures to be effective. Luckily in Zendikar there are a lot of playable Kor creatures and equipment. A solid card that is not a bomb rare but can win games and should be taken fairly early and played as long as you have 2-3 equipment + some other Kor creatures.
Celestial Mantle – Not playable in Limited. This card may look flashy, but the upsides are way to situational. Doubling your life total could be almost worthless on turn six and it doesn’t even give the creature flying. This is not a card you should draft or play with.
Conqueror’s Pledge - After Journey to Nowhere but before Kor Skyfisher. This is only p1p1 of a booster draft due to Journey’s splashability, since if it was pack 2 or 3 and I was committed to White I would take the pledge. A first pick quality card, take it and always play it.
Day of Judgment - Automatic first pick. There are so many games that you can win with a Day where no other card would work . While it is one of the more skill intensive cards to play, because you have to choose exactly what to put on the board and what to hold for after you cast it, if utilized properly it should be able to win you almost any game. Always draft it and always play it.
Devout Lightcaster - Not better than any of the top 5 White commons. The main problem here is his casting cost. If I was mono-White I would take him over a Hookmaster, though probably not over the other guys. A strong sideboard card, he has value, and while he should be taken and sideboarded in versus Black decks, due to his difficulty to cast you cannot take him early because you can’t count on being able to play him when you need him.
Emeria Angel - The best White card in my opinion. When a card that outright wins the game when it gets going is cheap, easy to cast, and even has a better than normal body size for its casting cost, you have a real winner. Play this on turn 4 against decks that cannot kill him, or turn 5 if you suspect removal so you can still net a 1/1 flyer. All around an amazing card.
Kabira Evangel - Take after Steppe Lynx. If you’re noticing a pattern here, I consider there to be a big drop-off from Steppe Lynx to Kor Hookmaster. The Hookmaster is fine, but definitely easily replaceable and not very impressive in my opinion. The top four White commons (Journey to Nowhere, Kor Skyfisher, Kor Sanctifiers, and Steppe Lynx) all offer something unique and very potent, but I don’t feel like the Hookmaster is an important card for your deck. Back to the Evangel; obviously if you have an Ally deck jump him higher and higher based on your Ally count, but I don’t think you should take him over the good White commons and try and force allies. He’s just not strong enough to justify that.
Luminarch Ascension - Playable, but not better than any of the top five White commons. I may be surprising you here by saying not calling this either awesome or terrible, so I am going to address both. It is not awesome because it requires a lot of protection and sacrifices during a game in order to get it online. Using your removal on cheap bad creatures and chump blocking are not effective ways to play Limited games. Now it’s not terrible because unlike Bloodchief Ascension, which is terrible, once you get it online you will outright win any game. Don’t take it early and sometimes leave it in your sideboard, depending on if your deck is more defensive or aggressive. You should sideboard it in against any defensive or just generally slow deck.
World Queller - An automatic first pick. Better than Journey, this card wins games. Remember it has the ability to kill off any opposing artifacts, enchantments, or Planeswalkers, whether or not you have one to sacrifice. More commonly killing creatures or lands, the not actually symmetrical ability will often win you the game. Always take it and always play it.
Felidar Sovereign – The next best White card after Emeria and it’s close. With the 2010 rules change to how lifelink works (gaining life before dying to combat damage) you’re never too far behind for this guy to save you. Couple him with a removal or combat trick and you will win any game. Since he has six toughness, there is not much that kills him. Always take him and always play him
Iona, Shield of Emeria - Not playable in Limited. Even in sealed deck, 9 mana is too much for a card that doesn’t say “win the game no matter what when you play this card”. Unless you’re playing the all-walls mirror, don’t draft Iona and definitely don’t play her.
Artifact
Blade of the Bloodchief - Surprisingly playable. At first I didn’t like this card, but then I realized Black tends to be able to kill creatures and growing your creatures a little bit over the long run does help. It is not an early pick, and I would never take it over a removal or really optimal common, but more often than not I find myself playing this card.
Grappling Hook - Completely unplayable. Way too slow for sealed or draft, the only way I could see playing this equipment is if you have a White equipment deck with several Kor Outfitters and an Armament Master.
Eldrazi Monument- While you will have to sideboard it out versus an aggressive Red-Black build with a lot of removal, I actively draft and play this card. It is a beautiful finisher for the White decks, and all around good as long as your opponent doesn’t have an abundance of removal. Draft it really early in the White weenie builds, middle of the pack for other decks, and usually play it.
Eternity Vessel - This card is not playable. It doesn’t matter what you think your deck does; cards have to do something. If you have a lot of evasion your life will be low when you play this. If you have a lot of defensive guys you want a six mana card to win you the game not reset your life total. Never draft or play it.
Lands
The search lands are all fine cards that you shouldn’t take too early but should always play. Misty Rainforest is obviously the best because it hits landfall the hardest, being Blue and Green.
Crypt of Agadeen – Completely unplayable.
Emeria the Sky Ruin - Only playable if you have 13+ Plains in your deck, then it becomes a fairly good card that I would take generally after Lynx but before Kor Hookmaster.
Magosi, the Waterveil - Not very powerful, but I almost always play with it. It is surprising, but a lot of games you can skip a turn when your board is fairly even, than it becomes very hard for your opponent to profitably attack you when you could take two turns in a row whenever you want for the rest of the game. You usually are able to use the extra turn to put him away. Not a very good card, and not to be taken early, but better then Island most of the time.
Oran-Rief the Vastwood - A very good card. If you’re heavy Green I would take this over any of the Green commons except Survivalist in a heavy Ally deck, or Gladehart or Harrow in a heavy landfall deck. It is hard to lose when all of your guys come in bigger the whole game. Also combos very well with Cobra Trap.
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle – Same as Emeria, but better because it comes online a turn faster and can help even if your behind by starting to pick off evasion creatures. It is a great card in a mono-Red deck but not playable in a 2 color deck.
Hopefully this article can serve as a reference for what to do when you encounter rares that you haven’t personally had a lot of experience with. One of the more difficult things to do is to have to decide between a card that seems good but you have only played with twice and a solid first pick removal spell like Burst Lightning or Hideous End. With Worlds and Grand Prix Minneapolis coming up, I would really like to have Zendikar down and would appreciate any feedback I can get. Good luck to everyone in their upcoming Limited tournaments.
Interesting article but I would rate Hookmaster and Oracle of Mul Daya higher than you do.
With Hookmaster in particular, it just gets better and better the more Skyfishers you have. Having seen a people completely locked down by a Skyfisher/Hookmaster combos, I think the two are pretty essential in any white deck.
As for Oracle, that card is pretty nuts and I would splash for it in almost (almost) any deck. It simply does so much once played - accelerates, smooths mana, smooths draws - it’s crazy. The only problem with it is the 4cc, but still a great card.
I also disagree that Sadistic Sacrament is completely unplayable. I’ve used it to rip out my a couple of Sphinxes from my opponent’s deck on Turn 3. That’s a crazy-good way of neutering your opponent’s deck. If you ever kick it, you’ve essentially won. I think you should take another look at it.
Comment by Neale — November 5, 2009 @ 9:20 pm
I agree with Neale’s comments on Hookmaster. I think it’s a lot better than you give it credit for.
Comment by JC — November 5, 2009 @ 9:56 pm
I disagree about your assessment of Goblin Guide. You claim he smooths mana draws, but he does nothing of the sort. If your opponent is going to be missing a land drop it is because they don’t have a land in hand and aren’t drawing a land. If they aren’t drawing a land, then GG is essentially taunting them while swinging for 2.
Comment by John — November 5, 2009 @ 10:03 pm
I know it might sound ridiculous but Sadistic Sacrament is a card I often regret no bringing g2 and g3 to get rid of some bomb I can’t deal with normally.
I would take Into the Roil over Roil Elemental. I think this bounce spell is really really good.
Poor Eternity Vessel.
Comment by Kenseiden — November 5, 2009 @ 10:15 pm
I agree with John. I’ve always wondered why people say things like ‘you don’t want your opponent getting out of mana screw’ when talking about goblin guide.
*If* there is a land on top of their deck, you draw them a card. Is the dmg worth that in this format? Considering 18 seems to be the standard amount of land it may not be. It probly depends on how fast your deck is. I can see it working in the right deck, though.
Comment by Randal — November 5, 2009 @ 11:27 pm
I also disagree with about Goblin Guide. A lot of the time it swings for 4 and then trades with their two drop. Sometimes it just swings for 8.
Comment by Brady — November 5, 2009 @ 11:49 pm
I don’t think Sadistic Sacrament is a card I ever want to play. In the ideal situation, you remove their bombs and go on to win the game because of it. In the rest of the situations - you still lose the game regardless of the bombs or you would have won anyways. In some situations, you will lose because you draw it when you need to impact the board. It may deal with potential future problems, but it doesn’t deal with the problems that are already in play. Sometimes you may have a great window to play it and hope that it makes a difference in the game, but I think in most, especially in this aggro format, you do not.
Ben, Olivier and Bucher have opposite opinions on Goblin Guide. Do you have any thoughts on why the big difference of opinion?
Comment by D — November 5, 2009 @ 11:57 pm
You don’t see Limited articles evaluating rares very often! I agree with your picks for the most part. But when in doubt, I go for the mise win. Cards like Roil Elemental and Luminarch Ascension, while fragile, can simply steal games that you otherwise would not have been able to win. However, I would probably not go for the mise win if my deck was very strong with or without those cards, since the consistency issues are not worth it.
Comment by Blind Fremen — November 6, 2009 @ 12:05 am
I’ve been rather unimpressed with Roil Elemental…every color has a way to deal with it easily at common except blue (even though the bounce is good against him).
I think Whiplash and Into the Roil might be better this guy as I’ve had him twice and those cards won me more games than the Elemental in the same deck, mostly due to that 2 on the butt and the UUU keeping trapped him into the hand, wouldn’t be a problem in G/U I suppose….
Comment by JoeA — November 6, 2009 @ 1:09 am
Very good idea for an article. As a side note, Ruel and Bucher just wrote that Goblin Guide is actually incredibly underrated and a very good card. Not that I agree, but it is interesting to see such a different, radical opinion.
Comment by Will — November 6, 2009 @ 1:50 am
Goblin guide attacks feel like 50-50 sign in bloods for the receiving end, and the value of a hasted 2/2 drops dramatically beyond the first two turns. Even ignoring the potential of fixing manashort opponents, it definitely helps manaflood draws… which was bad last time I checked.
Hookmaster is oftentimes better than lynx or sanctifiers and proves comparable to skyfisher even, mainly for reasons of flexibility. Lynx loses much of its value beyond turn three, and noticeably worse when playing on the draw. The multi-lynx deck gets a high probability of getting it out early, but fairly miserable topdecks later on. It also requires about even distribution of lands in 2 colors, making it at least pair worse with fast/crypt-ripper black, and a no-go for a 3rd color splash.
Sanctifiers without kicker might be above average vanilla, but just stares down spiders, scorpions, mini-krakens, and other sanctifiers a bit too often. Like lynx, not the splash-friendliest thing around, and some of the things you most need to kicker out just happen to kill you the turn they show up (read the article again). Post-side, there’s usually a lot fewer opportunities for advantage, and multiples usually feel like kor chosens.
On the other hand, hookers thrive in numbers and generate tempo and/or board-position boost at pretty much any point that doesn’t look post-wrath. They make for about the best third-turn drops you could want to follow up a bear, and a welcome topdeck that can smooth over a roadblock, then sneak an attack in the following turn as well. Paralyzing grasp suddenly seems quite a bit better, as does narrow escape. If there were any reasons to splash white, even as a third color, journey and hooker fulfill the removal role.
Someone already mentioned fisher/hooker shenanigans, which is about as degenerate as things can get on the non-black side of the spectrum, but that is why hookers are sometimes more necessary than skyfishers. Having multiple fishers is awkward at times, multiple hookers are awesome, and of course a mix would be optimal. Fishers can attack by themselves, hookers can enable attacking/defending that would otherwise be impossible… anyone reminded of nighthawks vs machetes?
Comment by limboi — November 6, 2009 @ 3:40 am
Hi,
Very interesting article, good to hear something about the rares. Is there also an article on the uncommons? Or did I miss that?
I also have some very good stories on Sadistic Sacrament, it is certainly playable, but really depends on the deck.
I pick it not that high, but when I have it in my pool and play black I play this card. It is true it doesn’t affect the board the turn you draw/play it, but having a look at their deck (and spot the bombs/removal) is valuable, certainly for the next game. Especially when I my deck is defensive, and want’s to protect a game winning bomb I want to play (like Kalitas, or a Sphinx, or Emeria Angel) it is good to get rid of the cards the opponent have that can deal with it.
So I played it 2 or 3 times, and was always happy with it.
Comment by Gerwin — November 6, 2009 @ 4:19 am
Excellent idea for an article. It was nice to see where the rares slot versus the commons and the reasons why. I had my first chance to play with the Monument last night and wanted to give it a try.
I picked it over Skyfisher just to have it in my deck. In the slower matchups it would have been an automatic winner, but I never drew it, but in the finals I played a deck with tons of removal and I boarded it out.
Comment by C Fox — November 6, 2009 @ 4:41 am
a lot of cards have to be evaluated differently compared to other limited formats, as this one is really strong. for example, i would never have seen myself playing cards like nimbuswings or goblin warpaint but they were actuall pretty decent when i played them in this format.
so, goblin guide is the hardest to evaluate as far as i’m concerned, as i don’t know yet what are the important resources: smooth mana, life total or card advantage. in tempest block, where it was all about the speed (=life total), this guy would have been awesome (as an extra land for the opponent wasn’t too big a deal), in alara, where it was about smooth mana, he would have been terrible, in ravnika where the games were prett long and about the card advantage, he would once again have been pretty bad. and now? the format ist REALLY fast, BUT the mechanic of the set ist landfall (smooth mana draws are even more important in this set, mana screw is double the trouble). card advantage is not as important in this format as speed, but i would say that card advantage+smooth mana are equally important as speed, so we have a tie. my reason not to play it is that as the format is fast, every deck should have some bears, so they can block gg whenever they want and trade with him, so you are letting your opponent a choice, which is pretty much always a bad idea (exept for fact or fiction :P)
I would never play him.
really good article dude, good to see someone listing the rares into the common pickorders! keep on the good work!
Comment by richard — November 6, 2009 @ 5:07 am
I’d take burst lightning/hideous end over sphinx of the lost truths,cuz red and black are so much better
her jwar isle sister is a complete different story tho
also, which cards would you pick over machete?
Comment by Shooter — November 6, 2009 @ 5:22 am
If you’re deck is aggressive enough, i.e. 5x vamp lacerator, 13 one drop.dec or something less extreme but very aggressive, the Goblin Guide is worth it imo.
At other times, he still trades profitably blocking.
In matchups versus evasion I guess he really suks… although those matchups you want to race, so he’s not that bad again?
I think I’ll pass on him almost everytime, unless I get passed 13 1 drop.dec again.
Comment by Someguy — November 6, 2009 @ 7:23 am
Here we go again with Goblin Guide. I guess I need to explain again why he does not assist with Mana SCREW (if they’re not drawing lands, they’re still not drawing lands) but does assist with Mana FLOOD (GG gives them lands, so they get to their spells faster). It does mitigate opposing flood in this way, also helps with their landfall triggers, AND mitigates opposing mulligans, as well as occasionally taking 2 land hands to 4 faster (for instance, if card 1 and 5, card 2 and 5 or card 3 and 5 were the only lands in top 5 for opponent). All this for a 2/2 that really isn’t that impressive except in the absolutely most aggressive decks. I’ve never played GG in Limited and unless I find myself on some VERY Unstable Footing (haha) I don’t plan to.
Comment by Shyft- — November 6, 2009 @ 7:41 am
When my opponents play Goblin Guide against me I feel like I’ve played Oracle of Mul Daya, except it cost 0 :/
On sacrament, well, this argument has happened multiple times - those spells are just BAD!!! It would take a very specific deck, in a very specific match, to board it in, not just “they have bombs lets mise”
Comment by PV — November 6, 2009 @ 8:18 am
Agreed about Goblin Guide. I’ve had only bad experiences with this card in limited.
I actually think Blood Tribute is playable…if you have Gruul Draaz Vampires. It automatically turns them into “bladetusk boars” while gaining you life in the process. I’ve been happy with it when I played it in my sealed decks.
Comment by ExplosPlankton — November 6, 2009 @ 10:27 am
The format is fast but not fast enough to warrant goblin guide. At the very least he should be the type of card that you open and expect to wheel and with that time see if nuts R aggro is open. I think he has the potential to be extremely bad in the majority of decks.
I happen to think that beastmaster ascension is good. 3 early attacks plus an alpha for 4 is probably the game. You don’t want to build around it too much but it changes the way the game is played and you should be attacking anyway. We don’t need to talk extensively about dream scenarios with river boa and cobra trap but they should not be ignored either.
Comment by Lpettro — November 6, 2009 @ 10:34 am
I think you missed the best part about Turntrimber Ranger and Kazuul Warlord: the ability to draft a dedicated Ally deck. You’re right, they are worthy of Pick 1 pack 1, and once you’ve taken them it boosts the value of every other Ally you see, especially the Ranger if you can pick up some harrows for fixing to allow you to play 3 or 4 colors. Having a deck with 12+ allies is sick, and it is easier to accomplish when you can value Ondu Clerics, Shieldmates, Tuktuk Grunts, Stonework Pumas, and Nimma Sellswords, and Hagra Diabolists higher than everyone else.
Comment by Ziege — November 6, 2009 @ 10:35 am
Great article, thanks for posting.
Comment by The Dude — November 6, 2009 @ 10:59 am
WRT bloodchief ascension. Most people seem to be making the mistake of trying to get these things online ASAP, making bad trades to make that happen. You just need to let it activate naturally, and force your opponent to make bad trades to PREVENT you from getting it online.
Consider that black has lots of evasion and removal, so casting a hideous end can get you a counter just as easily as attacking. I got shipped this in a sealed pod and it just crushed my opponent 2/3 games i drew it (the third game it was a topdeck). One game went like this:
t1: bloodchief
t2: surrakar
swing a few times, win, etc
Id still probably board it out once i see a sanctifiers in my opponents deck tho.
WRT goblin guide, everyone seems to see that you might give your opponent a few lands (roughly 50/50 each time), but also consider that if it is not a land, you know what they are gonna draw, which is actually a pretty big deal.
I wouldnt pick it highly, but am happy getting passed it because it is a fine creature. Board it out if the opponent is playing UG landfall with gladehearts and such, since the extra landfall will easily offset the extra dmg.
Comment by Just Some Guy — November 6, 2009 @ 11:02 am
I’ve always thought Devout Lightcaster was a girl. Is that a typo, or am I missing something?
Comment by random dude — November 6, 2009 @ 11:54 am
Goblin Guide is pretty good on the play, and a little worse on the draw. I’ve been pretty impressed with it so far in draft. In aggressive decks the extra damage you can deal in the early game that no other card can really do almost offsets the possible extra cards you give them. I would pick it before Geopede.
Comment by Andy — November 6, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
roil elemental and his friends (6 or 7 mana bombs that die to a lot of the removal spells) are still bombs, people don’t just have infinite removal spellsa, and obviously you win 99% of games you play this guy and he doesent die, but welkin tern and umara raptor cant even get past an oran rief recluse.
sadistic sacrament is a joke right? you cant ever play this card unless you are like 5 crab mill and you have lots of black for some reason and they have a quest for ancient secrets, but then its still probably bad.
goblin guide seems pretty simple, if you are really agressive he is playable but not even close to geopede or even like shortcutter, but in any deck slower than 100% beatdown he is pretty bad
Comment by sneakyhomunculous — November 6, 2009 @ 12:39 pm
Celestial Mantle - Has won the game every time I’ve seen it played. It’s at worst a good sideboard card in any deck with (say) Kor Aeronauts.
Comment by Bucky — November 6, 2009 @ 3:12 pm
i also think the hookmaster is a lil bit better as you point out. lsv also says in his article that the lynx/hookmaster decision is pretty dynamic. i think in pack 1 it depends a lot on what u think which cards will wheel.
Comment by hooky — November 6, 2009 @ 7:01 pm
Everyone seems to be forgetting that Goblin Guide *doesn’t have to attack*. A 2/2 defender for R is nothing to shake a stick at, but when you have the option to either get in for 2 or trade with their 2-3 drop it becomes decent. Nothing I would take highly, but I’ll play it in most decks. Simply only attack with it if you’re also curving out with other attackers.
I’ve really enjoyed your last two limited articles Ben, you seem to have a great handle on the format and you’re writing is very clear. Hope to see more limited articles from you yet!
Though damn you for spoiling Predatory Urge, I was really enjoying picking it up on the lap.
Comment by Jester123 — November 6, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
LoL at the people calling hookmasters hookers… anyway, great article. Not what I’m used to in limited articles… seems better to have all the cards together in pick orders.
Comment by Wes — November 6, 2009 @ 10:43 pm
Have to disagree on celestial mantle. While i concede the fact that the card doesn’t provide evasion or do anything spectacular, if you are W/u fliers and can reliably expect to mantle up an aether figment any guy with flying, you have most certainly won. I hated this card as well, until I lost to it, then I got it late in my next 2 drafts and won those, at least 5 times on the back of mantle + evasion guy. Its not a high pick, slightly deck dependent (you have to have some evasion guys) and I would take journey and skyfisher over it, but probably pick it over hooker in most situations.
Comment by Max — November 7, 2009 @ 9:36 am
I like Obsidian Fireheart over Plated Geopede. A 4/4 for 4 is good on it’s own, then you factor in that if you activate him twice you probably win.
Comment by Jim Varney — November 7, 2009 @ 2:03 pm
Stark Reality - Rare Situations…
Your story has been summoned to the battlefield - Trackback from MTGBattlefield…
Trackback by MTGBattlefield — November 7, 2009 @ 9:52 pm
Goblin Guide almost single-handedly won me a foil scalding tarn.
Eternity vessel won me the first zendikar draft I ever played.
What is your obsession with allies?
Comment by Jordan — November 8, 2009 @ 12:31 pm
I understand the difference of opinion on Goblin Guide as its an extremely high variance card, and it definitely has an upside. The downside outweighs the upside in limited though. On average if you play it turn 1 and attack 5 times your giving your opponent 2 lands. Too much of the time that is going to allow him to make land drops he wouldn’t otherwise have made and cast spells he couldn’t otherwise have cast. I know it seems good those games they don’t utilize the extra lands and those games you squeak in the 20 and his damage seems great, but in the end the extra land or 2 you give the opponent is going to cost you more games then the extra damage is going to win you.
Comment by ben stark — November 8, 2009 @ 11:56 pm
If Kraken Hatchling is playable, why wouldn’t Goblin Guide be? I know he’s in a different color but for simplicity’s sake in a R/U deck.
Wouldn’t you rather have a 2/2 wall than a 0/4 one?
Added advantage is he joins in on alpha strikes. I don’t think he’s all that bad.
That doesn’t mean I would always attack with him, though. Sometimes I wouldn’t even attack with him on an empty board.
Not a very high pick, but I definately don’t consider him unplayable.
Comment by Lunor — November 9, 2009 @ 2:23 pm
I have experience both facing and playing with goblin guide and it is good in the right deck.
Comment by TugaChampion — November 10, 2009 @ 1:11 am
I’m surprised to see Eternity Vessel rated so poorly. I know I’m a terrible player, but I’ve never not lost to it once it’s hit play. While in the abstract a lot of the time it’s poor either because you’re low when it hits (in which case it’s at best a 6-mana spell that will gain you just a few life) or because by the time you’re dropping a six-mana artifact, it’s possible to go several turns without a drop, my personal experiences (admittedly limited to three drafts) make it seem completely brutal.
I agree that Bloodchief Ascension looks better than it works.
I believe that Sadistic Sacrament is substantially better in Sealed than in Draft; a sealed deck will frequently only have a limited number of cards that can go the distance and a high level of card quality variance, and an early Sacrament can totally cripple a lot of sealed decks. Of course, it’s a terrible topdeck, and I’ve only had it played against me; I’ve never played it, and for all I know it sits dead in an opponent’s hand a lot of the time. Its mana cost is also really clunky. I’ve just talked myself out of liking the card.
I consider Guul Draz Specter to be more awesome if you’re running Mind Sludges. The Specter can get their card count down to where it matches your swamp count, and Mind Sludge + 5/5 flier is brutal. (I also think that GDS is better than your average specter tends to be because holding random lands, which normally serve as discard fodder to specters, is less good here.)
Comment by Dave — November 10, 2009 @ 3:55 am
Goblin Guide can be very good in an agressive br deck, I would play him.
As for Guul Draz Specter, I think you are rating him way up. I have already played with and against and I think it is weak. It is useless on defense, pretty susceptible and can be easily disfused by a common flyer like skyfisher and welkin tern or even a oran rief recluse. I definently would pick disfigure over it.
Also between it and some other common 4th drops, I would pick nimana’s sword and crypt ripper over it.
Comment by Miranda — November 10, 2009 @ 7:22 am
Roil Elemental is great in B/G landfall othrwise it drops in value. Any Goblin Gudie I have seen (either playing or played against) has hurt the owner more than helped usually it’s not your turn on or two drop and after that he just sits there and is a chump. The hardest thing to choose from is a duel land that fits my colors or a solid pick in the colors fixing or another card?
Comment by Lurcher — November 13, 2009 @ 11:23 am