Jund and M11
Until October, Jund will be running around Standard giving players Sprouting Thrinax filled nightmares. While the Jund color wheel might not have gotten the best crop of cards in the set, M11 still gives Jund some powerful options. Id like to highlight a few cards that I feel will make an impact on the most played deck in the format.
FNM and M11 Pre-release report
This past Friday I attended FNM at my favorite gaming spot, but I didn’t run Jund! I know, big Shocker there. I didn’t run Jund because I wanted to prove to myself (and some other people) that I can indeed win without playing Jund. Well, I did just that. I ended up placing top 4 (it was reported as 2nd) with a home brewish deck. I sleeved up the following:
Spoiled Again!
Wait, didn’t I just write about spoilers last week? Well…in this week’s Act of Reason I’m going to cover a few more of the cards spoiled and talk about their viability in Standard. This week won’t be quite as organized as last week, so be prepared for me to jump around colors, rarities and all sorts of other wonderfulness.
The first thing I want to touch on is the likelihood of all the original Planeswalkers being back in the set. One can assume that this is the case but I’m going to go on record and say it makes logical sense to put all of the original walkers into a core set. With this being said, is this going to really change things up? I’m going to go out on a limb and say maybe (lame answer, I know). Right now, these walkers aren’t seeing a ton of action due to the emergence of three of the most powerful walkers created to date; Elspeth, Gideon, and Jace 2.0. Come October, we say bye to Elspeth (my current favorite) and look forward to a new batch in Scars of Mirrodin…or do we? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we can’t guarantee new walkers in Scars, however, I think that it would be a bad idea not to print any. With that being said, there could be some nice synergy with the core walkers and any from Scars.
I now want to talk about the cycle of Titans in this set. These guys are cool and each of them is dripping with flavor—even you Frost Titan! I talked about Sun Titan last week and referred you to Flores’ article. This week I want to talk about the potential for Primeval Titan. To be honest, the first time I saw this card, I read it as “basic lands and put them into play tapped.” After looking at the original price of the card, I took my time reading it and realized that this guy fetches two LANDS for you. Now I’ve been seeing a lot of people harping on the fact that this guy dies to removal and all you did was fetch to lands and spent six mana on a Harrow that grabs non-basics. Wait, really people, it dies to removal? Is that the best you can come up with? This guy is not a waste. What would you pay to fetch two non-basics and put them into play tapped? Eldrazi Temple? Eye of Ugin? Two man-lands? Two Tectonic Edges? Let’s also not forget we get a 6/6 trampler! This guy can get out of control fast if they don’t have the removal for him. But I think this guy is going to see some standard play in Turboland and possibly Valakut Ramp. I think it is a bit of a Squeeze on Valakut Ramp to have those forests out there but also, like a lot of people are saying, this guy allows these deck builders to thin out their decks a bit and get rid of the clunky Khalni Heart Expeditions. Look for this guy in a deck near you! Grave Titan just looks fun. I don’t know if he’ll see the Standard scene or not. A lot of Jund players don’t want to spend 6 mana any more in their decks as they’ve gotten even more aggressive. It’s hard to go wrong with a 6/6 creature that poops two 2/2’s right out of the gate and two more each time it attacks. Did I mention he has deathtouch? Inferno Titan and Frost Titan, to me, are a bit underwhelming for Standard. Inferno, because most red decks that would utilize his ability aren’t running high casting cost creatures and Frost, because his ability is just soft control. His “semi-shroud” ability isn’t really worth mentioning either. Honestly, unless you cheat him out on turn 2, your opponent isn’t going to have much trouble paying 2BR for a Terminate.
So I’m still waiting on a Merfolk lord out of blue. Is it the one pictured on the booster packs? Who knows? I almost want to see Merfolk Sovereign back because he/she has nice synergy with Scroll Thief. Take two damage and I draw a card. I’d like to see some others as it looks like the Elf tribe could possibly make a comeback with the rumor of Imperious Perfect also being in this core set. And where is the goblin lord? Will we see Goblin Chieftain back as well? With Ember Hauler hanging around will goblins be viable again? There are just so many questions still left to be answered…
One thing I do know is assuming that we will see all five of the core walkers back, that leaves us with 2 mythic rare cards left to be spoiled. I’d wager as well that they’ll be in black and red unless they didn’t balance out the mythic placement. There are still a couple of question marks as far as the booster pack pictures are concerned. What’s that Lich looking thing? Could this be a mythic creature for black? As this week rolls on, we’re bound to see more of the rare cards spoiled on wizards’ website. I don’t know about you all (how many of you are there anyway?) but I was not blown away by Angelic Arbiter this morning. I think it might find its way into some sideboards at best…and that’s some risky tech if you ask me. At that late a stage in the game, does it really matter if you’re locking your opponent? Ugh, I realize that all cards aren’t created to be amazing, or to see Standard play, but this card had me shaking my head. EDH and Limited bomb, absolutely. Other than that it’s shiny and cool, but that’s about as far as I see it going—oh and it’s a foil in the intro packs. I see myself pulling a foil of this on top of the intro pack one based on my track record of doing this.
So that’s all I’ve got for you this week. Enjoy the next week and a half of spoilers. I hope they keep things fun and interesting like they have so far. Wizards has done a fantastic job keeping things under a better lock and key for this set than ROE. I’m sure there will be one or two more surprises on the horizon with this one. Finally, I have no idea what to play at FNM this week. Suggestions??
Spoiled!
It’s That Time Again…
Spoiler season for the latest core set is here and in this week’s Act of Reason I’d like to talk about the cards we’ve seen spoiled so far and which ones I like for sealed. First and foremost, I don’t claim to be a sealed pro or anything special. Much like all of my articles, I can only write based upon my observations and experience. I’m going to break down each group by color. So with that, let’s begin!
White:
Obviously Baneslayer Angel is a great card to see back; especially to those of us who already own a playset. I really don’t have much else to say about this card other than it’s still amazing, but while playing in sealed, keep a close eye on it. I mean this from both sides of the card. Be hesitant to cast it early as your main threat as there is quite a bit of removal in this core set. For the other side of the coin, if you know someone pulled it—and you will, hold your removal for it. This card will lock up the game if left unchecked.
With most sealed events there are two creature types that Thrive: fliers and fatties. I want to talk about a couple other fliers that I really like. I love seeing Goldenglow Moth back in action. This card is going to be a major nuisance in sealed. Plop a Holy Strength on it, and bam, you’ve got a viable blocker, attacker, and life gainer all in one! I also really like Cloud Crusader; flying and first strike, bonus!
Another card I’d like to touch on is Sun Titan. All I have to say is that I can’t wait to see this card broken in the format. For more information read Flores’ article here. I completely agree with him. Finally to wrap up white, I want to highlight Condemn, Pacifism, and Safe Passage. We all know Condemn is going to replace Path to Exile. Being an uncommon, keep your eye on this one because if you’re splashing white, you need this in there. Pacifism will save your butt from a big creature early and likely swing the tide to your advantage, but if that doesn’t do it, a timely Safe Passage might. Honorable mention goes to Elite Vanguard in this group. A 2/1 on turn 1 can get dangerous fast, especially if it’s followed with another on turn 2.
Edit: After writing this article, more cards were spoiled—I want to take a look at Knight Exemplar. Because Knight of the Reliquary wasn’t good enough, let’s permanently make it indestructible with Knight Exemplar. This card is replacing Dauntless Escort in Mythic Conscription decks. As far as sealed is concerned, I’m not afraid of it. There’s not much of a chance you’ll see too many tribal knight decks in a sealed tourney. I’m sure I’ll be eating my words in a few weeks…
Blue:
Tons of people have talked about Aether Adept and how it is the replacement for Man o’ War. I’m not going to say much more other than I like the addition to blue and the possibilities as early soft control. Back on topic for sealed, I love Air Servant! He taps fliers while you attack with him! This guy is like Dawnglare Invoker plus. He lets you bombard your opponent with your airborne army, while you keep theirs at bay. I also like Augury Owl and all of the Scry spells. They bring fun back to blue, not only for sealed, but for constructed. Jace’s Ingenuity is also a nice card for sealed and standard. Need drawing power, check, need it at instant speed, you got it! Finally for blue, one you want to really keep an eye out for is Mind Control. If you’re running blue and you leave this card on the side you’ll really want to kick yourself. “Nice Baneslayer.” *Yoink* “Mine now!” Honorable mention for blue has to go to Diminish. I love this card paired with Cunning Sparkmage, but for sealed, pair it with Prodigal Pyromancer and we’re good.
Edit: Mana Leak!!!!! Nuff said about that. Time Reversal, wow…this card makes me happy. I’m not sure how to abuse it quite yet; give me some time to think about it. But seriously, they made a functional reprint of Time Twister! This card could be sick in sealed as well!
Black:
It’s where the removal is at, but I want to touch on the powerful Nightwing Shade for sealed. Pumpable is good in sealed, but a flier to boot; yes please! We then have your Reassembling Skeleton – your multipurpose, non-trample, blocker. Reassemble him at your opponent’s end step and untap on yours. Finally, we know that Doom Blade is back but I want to talk about Necrotic Plague a bit. This card is an enigma to me. 2BB to destroy an opponent’s creature and then one of yours. Then it’s rinse and repeat while there are still critters on the board. I just want to say I love the flavor this card is covered with, but as far as sealed is concerned, it’s only conditional removal. I have no creatures and my opponent has one, bam – bye, bye birdie. Honorable mention goes out to Stabbing Pain and Unholy Strength.
Red:
Now here’s a color that has me a little hesitant to play sealed. I’m seeing a ton of burn and burn related spells here and not a lot of good creatures to protect my Planeswalker butt. I want to touch on how good Act of Treason is in sealed. You take your opponent’s biggest creature away from them, swing out and win. More times than not it works, just watch out for the occasional Safe Passage and Fog. Now Fling on the other hand paired with Act of Treason is just a downright dirty play for all of five mana. Highlights in the burn category, for me, include Lightning Bolt, Lava Axe, and Prodigal Pyromancer. My sleeper for red enchantments is Volcanic Strength. I feel like it does so much against red that it’s a must run. Honorable mention for this group, for me, goes to Arc Runner and Ember Hauler. Arc Runner on a clean board is nasty for three mana. A hasty 5/1, that doesn’t go away, means you need an answer fast. Ember Hauler, I feel ,can be great given the right deck in sealed and it could be the card that wins you the game with that last point of damage.
Edit: Hording Dragon. I really, really, want this card to be good. It’s dripping with flavor but I just don’t see it fitting into constructed play (yet). Combustion however…wow! Let’s really take care of that big bad Baneslayer with M11.
Green:
I like a lot of cards in green right now for sealed, so I’m not going to touch on them all. I do want to talk a little bit about some of green’s fatties. I scoffed at Yavimaya Wurm until I read the card again and realized that it had Trample. It’s a much more functional version of Craw Wurm, yippee! Granted an unchecked Craw Wurm is still damaging but this guy runs through blockers if they can’t kill it. Garruk’s Companion; a 3/2 trampler is also a nasty card at two green mana. Look to face multiples of this in your events. While this card isn’t exactly a fattie, I place it there simply because of its destructive capability. If you really want to talk about a fattie, look no further than Greater Basilisk. This guy can also Wreak Havoc if left unchecked. My sleeper for green, so far, is probably Wall of Vines. This card is going to protect you in the early game while you ramp up using Cultivate to drop bigger creatures. Finally, honorable mention, and also “watch out for,” goes to Plummet. Being that you can only run four of this in constructed; I want to run as many of this as possible in sealed.
Edit: Well we got the Jund hoser spoiled that Aaron Forsythe talked about – Obstinate Baloth. This card is going to find a home in so many decks; limited and constructed. I love the symmetry of it. A 4/4 for 4 mana that gains you 4 life when it enters the battlefield and can’t be discarded. Overwhelming Stampede will see play as well, even with some potential to replace Overrun in some decks. I like its potential for a REALLY BIG swing.
Edit2: I’d also like to talk about a couple of the artifacts that have been spoiled. My teammates would not let me post this article without talking about Juggernaut. I HATE this card. Of course by hate, I mean love. This card is going to hose U/W control unless they have an answer to it. I see it making its way into some sideboards just to walk past Wall of Omens and Wall of Denial. I also like Gargoyle Sentry in sealed a lot. This guy could potentially give people fits. Big ups to MTGSalvation for posting all the spoilers, without which I wouldn’t be able to talk about all of this today.
On a final note, I got my first 1st place in a FNM last week. I made top 4 for the 2nd week in a row and they were nice enough to give me the victory. And for the “awwww” factor, I gave my prize packs to a new kid, from what I could guess was under 15, who showed a lot of guts coming to a FNM filled with 25+ year olds. I hope he comes back! I’m taking a hiatus this week from FNM in favor of a graduation party. Until next week!