Every new set brings a plethora of giddy feelings known as spoiler season, and I can’t help but want to participate in looking at all the new shiny cards. I thought I would mix things up a bit and give you my personal thoughts on a handful of hand-picked spoilers from Zendikar Rising, the newest set soon to be released for Magic: The Gathering™. Traditionally, the Zendikar plane has been a favorite among players because it’s so story driven. Personally, I’ve never been a huge fan of Zendikar, but I am excited to see wizards, vampires, and traditional blue/black mechanics resurface. Let’s find out if that’s the case!
Usually I look at spoilers through two lenses. In the first, I look at cards that I aesthetically or mechanically want to collect. I usually don’t have a deck in mind for these cards, so I’ll be looking at low power cards that I think have some use to my collection. More than likely, I’m fond of these cards because of the art or flavor they provide. In the second, I look at cards that I think are functionally powerful enough that I want to build around immediately, drop into an existing deck, or that I think will become staples on Arena.
New flip lands
Clearwater Pathway: Tap Clearwater Pathway: Add 1 Blue Mana. // Murkwater Pathway: Tap Murkwater Pathway: Add 1 Black Mana.
Cragcrown Pathway: Tap Cragcrown Pathway: Add 1 Red Mana. // Timbercrown Pathway: Tap Timbercrown Pathway: Add 1 Green Mana.
Hagra Mauling: This spell costs 1 Colorless Mana less to cast if an opponent controls no basic lands. Destroy target creature. // Hagra Broodpit: Hagra Broodpit enters the battlefield tapped. Tap Hagra Broodpit: Add 1 Black Mana.
Glasspool Mimic: You may have Glasspool Mimic enter the battlefield as a copy of a creature you control, except it’s a Shapeshifter Rogue in addition to its other types. // Glasspool Shore: Glasspool Shore enters the battlefield tapped. Tap Glasspool Shore: Add 1 Blue Mana.
I often can’t afford powerful staple lands, like fetchlands, shocklands, Prismatic Vista, or even Fabled Passage. But I can evaluate how effective they will be. Anyone who gets the colors they need when they need them, or ends up with a tapland in the wrong color at the wrong time, understands just how important mana fixing is in this game. There’s nothing more powerful in this game than a smooth mana experience. That’s why I’m always excited to see new imaginative ways to implement mana fixing.
I have to say, these new lands that enter the battlefield as either/or are going to be very useful options in multi-colored decks, especially in EDH. We saw in Jumpstart that ETB taplands that can be either/or could be very useful in budget decks, but these lands come into the battlefield untapped. They’ll easily be in demand during the standard format, and I can see them being in demand in EDH decks too. They can’t be fetched easily without subtypes, but they can provide some much needed immediate color fixing.
I will also mention that these utility flip lands, like Hagra Mauling, or Glasspool Mimic, are absolutely powerful. They’re over costed for the ability, sure, but the fact that they can provide early game color fixing with late game utility is well worth the extra cost (and in Hagra Mauling’s case, potential cost.) Not all of these utility flips are going to be good enough to warrant use, but if we look toward Eldraine, we can see that plenty of adventures were had. I can see a lot of these cards being EDH staples, I just hope they won’t be too expensive once the set is released.
My only grievance is that these cards are rare. WOTC is well aware that lands are the most important part of any deck and they’re already working so hard to ensure that they feed the secondary market. That kind of greed is unconscionable to sell sealed product. I say this because the game is already very expensive and those kinds of barriers of entry only push people away. It’s very difficult to justify dropping a hundred dollars on lands, just to be even casually competitive. I don’t blame people for being apprehensive toward investing in the game.
Big fat crabe
Charix, the Raging Isle: Spells your opponents cast that target Charix, the Raging Isle cost 2 Colorless Mana more to cast. 3 Colorless Mana: Charix gets +X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of Islands you control.
That’s no spelling mistake. Truly this leviathan crab is a big boy with 17 toughness, but I suspect he’s going to be a monster with chonky decks, like those that employ Assault Formation, Huatli, the Sun’s Heart, or High Alert. Here’s a list of cards in that same vein. I think Charix will be an affordable budget option that does impressive things in the right deck.
In a way, this card reminds me of Arixmethes.
This reminds me of something…
Legion Angel: Flying. When Legion Angel enters the battlefield, you may reveal a card you own named Legion Angel from outside the game and put it into your hand.
Almost everything about this card reminds me of Emeria Angel, but the ability here is totally unique and hard to gauge effectiveness. Generally when oracle text references cards that you own outside of the game, they mean your sideboard, or your collection on hand if a sideboard is not part of the format. Sideboards are effective because in best-of-x games, you can sideboard in the right answers to various decks you come across. Being that sideboards are traditionally fifteen cards, it’s a tough call to justify putting a bunch of angels that you will never sideboard in to deal with potential issues. That being said, allowing your sideboard to function as a second library during a game is powerful. Spells like Karn or Granted have shown that to be true.
I personally think the best combination of Legion Angels is two in the deck, and two in the sideboard. That way you don’t over saturate your deck with angels that do not trigger, but you also don’t constrict your options too much in the sideboard. I also believe that Legion Angel is a worthy card in flying decks, or standard white control or stax decks that need a win condition that can’t splash for Dream Trawler.
Solid removal
Bloodchief’s Thirst: Kicker 2 Colorless Mana + 1 Black Mana (You may pay an additional 2 Colorless Mana + 1 Black Mana as you cast this spell.) Destroy target creature or planeswalker with converted mana cost 2 or less. If this spell was kicked, instead destroy target creature or planeswalker.
It’s not an instant, which is why it won’t be as beloved as Fatal Push. For 1 Black Mana though, I think this card is going to be a big player. Plus, with the kicker, which in total is only one more mana than Murder, you can also take out any creature or planeswalker. It’s no Vraska’s Contempt, but it’s still a sleeper hit in my opinion.
This or that?
Deliberate: Scry 2, then draw a card.
Deliberate is the instant version of Omen of the Sea. Personally I think this card, and Omen, are both great budget cards. Compared to Preordain or Serum Visions, the instant casting speed is well worth the extra colorless mana. This is especially true with decks where leaving mana up allows for better control. I can see this being a pauper staple, used heavily in standard, and even see it being played in a variety of other formats. I know I’ll be picking up a few.
Too slow?
Relic Robber: Haste. Whenever Relic Robber deals combat damage to a player, that player creates a 0/1 colorless Goblin Construct artifact creature token with “This creature can’t block” and “At the beginning of your upkeep, this creature deals 1 damage to you.”
Three mana for a hasty 2/2 might seem like it’s too slow for red. Red is all about gotta go fast when it comes to doing damage as quickly as possible and counting up to 20 life. However, Relic Robber seems to combine Chandra, Awakened Inferno and Captain Lannery Storm. Personally, I think this card is an all-star. One trigger is good, but two triggers is amazing. True, it has to deal combat damage in order to trigger, but the construct it creates can’t block, which means it’s staying around unless your opponent can sacrifice it. Burning removal on the construct seems like a waste, even if it introduces a clock.
New York’s hottest club is shambles
Swarm Shambler: Swarm Shambler enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it. Whenever a creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it becomes the target of a spell an opponent controls, create a 1/1 green Insect creature token. 1 Colorless Mana + Tap Swarm Shambler: Put a +1/+1 counter on Swarm Shambler.
This card is meow. This card has everything. It:
- Is low costed at only one mana.
- Comes into the battlefield with a counter on it, so it can affected by proliferate.
- Protects your board by providing value for removal of your creatures, including itself.
- Has an ability that can permanently boost its power when being used as a blocker.
I realize it’s only great, and fully taken advantage of, in decks that leverage +1/+1 counters, but that’s such a widespread mechanic that this card is easily an all-star.
Burn it down
Cleansing Wildfire: Destroy target land. Its controller may search their library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle their library. Draw a card.
Land destruction is the type of mechanic that really makes people rage. It’s bad enough having games where you can’t draw into the lands you need, but it’s much worse when you’re in a multi-color deck and you can’t get the color you need. This card is low costed because it lets your opponent replace the land you destroyed with a basic land, which is definitely antithetical to land destruction, but what if your opponent is playing three colors? They might only have access to various non-basic lands to help them fix mana. I think this card has serious power when playing against more competitive decks that rely on fetching into a shockland. Plus, it replaces itself with a draw effect. I think this is a powerful card that forces your opponents to make tough decisions, and that’s always fun.
Squid boy
Skyclave Squid: Defender. Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, Skyclave Squid can attack this turn as though it didn’t have defender.
Bear with both an upside and a downside. Call me crazy, but I think Skyclave Squid has some serious chops. The defender is definitely a downside, but only if you’re playing aggro. As a blocker, 3 power and 2 toughness is more than enough to push back aggro decks on turn 2. I could also see Skyclave Squid having value in a landfall deck, which I’m sure will be prevalent once this set releases.
Mill returns
Soaring Thought-Thief: Flash. Flying. As long as an opponent has eight or more cards in their graveyard, Rogues you control get +1/+0. Whenever one or more Rogues you control attack, each opponent mills two cards.
I get that rogues are getting a huge push this set, and this rogue lord is certainly worth it for the tribe, but I’m more interested in how this will affect multiplayer mill. Combining rogues and mill seems like a really fun way to make mill more powerful. This would be perfect for a casual deck that primarily goes off with a mill combo. Typically mill decks don’t value creatures, but they could benefit from having some bodies on the field that offer an alternative damage-oriented win condition. Flash and flying is a nice touch too, which makes it pretty easy to slot into a blue deck that values instant-speed effects.
Thoughts on Zendikar Rising
I’m not super impressed with this set. The flavor seems lacking, and I was expecting some more interesting vampires and maybe some blue/black vampires like we’ve seen in the past. Nevertheless, there are some cards that are getting my attention. Most of the decent cards that would slot into my EDH decks are already out of my budget, but I am taking a hard look at the various flip lands, because I believe those are going to be the best options to come from this set.
Speaking of, excluding some of the more financially affordable flip lands, I feel like there is a stark divide between cards that are both powerful and unique, and cards that are effectively draft chaff. I fear that for a while now, WOTC has been pumping their sets full of draft chaff to manipulate the secondary market, and this set reminds me of that fear.