Hello and happy Tuesday here to you from those of us here at MTG - The Journey. As promised, today we will be tearing into some of the Blue cards from the new MTG set Theros, which pre-releases this weekend on the 21st. I will be attending Main Street Magic & Miniatures in Ames, IA for the midnight pre-release, and placing my order for a box of Theros there that night as well.
So without further ado, let us begin with the Mythic Rares of the Blue types, and what we might expect to see with them, and possible match-ups and combos we might find.
So here is our first up Mythic going in alphabetical order. It's got a couple of good things going for it right off the bat. Number one, it's pro red. So you can't burn this guy out. Number two, it brings in some nice little tokens with it that hit the field as 2/1's. And once again, seeing as how he has a CMC of 4U, you should most likely have a couple of Blue creatures already on the field by the time he hits, so chances are you should be bringing as much as 8 power on the field for 4 mana. So a good swing to be sure.
I see this definitely hitting a Merfolk deck, perhaps in a Simic type situation. I can see a Master Biomancer pairing happening here quite nicely.
It's too bad we are losing Cloudshift, or this guy could make some waves real bad. Pun intended.
Ah, the God of the Sea. I for one am rather impressed with her. She is the cheapest of the gods to cast. Has a free Scry every turn and has the ability to make creatures "unblockable" for a turn. I mean really, what's not to love? In my opinion, probably rivals for the best God of the set. If you score this pre-release, you better hope you get the chance to build around it.
I see this hitting standard play fairly quickly, even though it is susceptable to enchantment removal, you are playing Blue for crying out loud, you better have a counter in there somewhere to keep her safe. Which is why I say this is one of the most useful Gods, the ability to protect it is omnipresent.
Now we move on to the Rares in the set, and there are some good ones in Theros. I am pleasantly surprised at the overall usefulness of Blue in this set. I don't play Blue very often, as it tends to lean towards mid-game control most of the time, and I am not a very good control player. But let's look and see what the Rares have to offer here.
Now to be honest, I saw this and was like wha . . . I mean, it doesn't say "until end of turn", it says "become a copy of target creature and gain this ability." Period. So you have a creature that's bigger than mine, okay, simple enchantment that does virtually nothing and bam, I mimic your creature. Sure, I'm on board. Why not.
I see this as something that's going to pair super well with Progenitor Mimic in a deck, and it serves purpose all through the game, as you keep targeting it, even with say a Hidden Strings, it can keep changing to keep pace with even their biggest and nastiest creatures. I would say that this card will see a ton of constructed play, and maybe even see competitive standard.
I LOVE IT!! It fits so perfectly with the God that it belongs to it makes normal synergy in a deck seem futile. I'm not so sure on the 2nd ability, but whenever a creature you control does combat damage draw a card!! I mean heck yes!! With Thassa, you make a creature "unblockable" and then this lets you net card advantage like crazy. I am a BIG fan!
I actually see this getting more play than Thassa herself. The ability to make creatures attack your big boys, forcing them to make trades. I think this card will go far.
This card I'm just not sure about. Sooo, is this to be aimed at you or them? I mean yeah, you can exile their creatures, but they are still getting a pork dinner out of it . . .
I see the value, however, I don't see this being anything more than a dollar rare that collects dust in a bin somewhere. I have been wrong before, but there are so many other options I can't see this being used an awful lot.
Could be useful. But seems like an awful big pain in the butt to get it to go off. I mean, you only control an instant or sorcery for some much time, and they know you have the ability to copy them, so they are going to be waiting to counter them if they are playing any type of control.
I see this as a type of Golgari Decoy, because it's a removal magnet. Although, if you do get him out and get Hidden Strings ciphered onto an "unblockable" like Deathcult Rogue, then he could be fun to untap all your permanants during your second main phase. The 2U and tap makes him hard to use at best though. I see it as another dollar rare.
If you are playing Dimir colors, this would be freakin sick. He isn't a huge body, but that big butt is nice. As a flyer, and the ability to Scry freakin 3 when he attacks. Heck yes. I will take some. The discard ability, he comes with his own inbuilt way to protect itself. I just wish it was a mana ability.
I really don't know on this one how to make a call. I don't think he is going to be a ten dollar card, but I don't see him being bottom of the barrel either. Time will tell I suppose.
I think they chose right when they made this the "seeded pack" champion for Blue. In limited, he is a bomb. And when that Monstrosity triggers, it's gonna get messy. A 10/10 that goes in swinging with up to 4 of their guys tapped! And as long as you control the Kraken, they don't untap. Can you say "that's game"? Cuz I can, and might.
I don't really see this making standard, but it's got a shot. A 6/6 for 6 is never bad. And for only 2 more mana, it goes boom too. Too big for burn. Yeah, it's got potential.
Hmmm, interesting. That's really all I have to say. I say no to your spell, but you get a bird. Better hope you have a way to deal with that flyer afterward.
So not bad on the Rares, some pretty useful stuff, and some kinda iffy cards. Definitely some to play around with though. So on to the Uncommons. There should be some useful ones in here. I'm not sure if I want to cover all of them though, because I might pick up some speed here and try to tackle another color today as well. I need more time to get to those multi-colored cards before the pre-release on Friday night.
Well I mean, I don't want to say this should have had the Rare slot over Swan Song, but . . . it should have. I'll take it as an Uncommon though, more useful for me. Counter their SPELL. This is Cancel, with Scry. Hmmm, let me say no AND see if I want to draw this card. No, well let's get rid of that then.
Yep, this card is going places and will be the go-to counter in the set I'm pretty sure. I see it at about seventy -five cents to a dollar for an Uncommon.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Grrr, I want to rant so bad right now. HOW DOES THIS GET AN UNCOMMON SLOT!!! It's so friggin conditional! I just don't get it, other than limited (and not really even then if there is any other spell) when are you going to need this???
Bah! Okay I'm done, moving on.
A 4/4 Flyer with Scry 2. I can dig it, wish it wasn't a mana cost for every power and Scry, but at least they can justify the cause. Not too shabby.
It's a good solid draft pick and will do well in limited. I doubt it will see constructed because there are way better options, but all in all, not bad.
And we arrive at the next solid card. Use it, love it. Boost me, boost me, boost me, now draw 2. Okay. I can deal. I will use it if I get it.
On the Standard side, eh, I dunno, seems like it might get used in specific roles. I see it used once again if a creature is "unblockable" and you have the want for card draw.
Still, solid.
The guy (or girl) that this gets dropped on is NOT going to be happy. "You can have those back, I'm just gonna look at this card real fast. Oh my, did those get tapped? Yep, sure did." And that's how it will go.
Good card. Seems legit.
I can see it being used. It's a bear with a nice butt. AND it becomes an 8/8 two turns later it can swing in for nasty damage. I can dig it.
It's going to be fun to use in limited. Draft for sure. And maybe might make a constructed deck or two. I would think about it. There might be a better card, but this isn't too shabby.
High bestow cost makes it kinda sad. But I mean, more card draw and a 3/3 for 4. Not bad. With Thassa on the field, could be a stall until you get her big bad Bident out there for the draw, and then with both you could draw lots of cards. Yay!!
MORE CARD DRAW. Basically if you are playing Blue, you want to draw cards. And lots of them. A Blue/Red matchup would get kind of out of hand. Draw and tokens, more draw, more tokens. Yep, it would be a vicious cycle.
We need overload cards.
The last of the Uncommons. It's one that my deckbuilding brother already can't wait to get his hands on. Targets two, and with Heroic out there, that can be a big deal. They untap, useful on your opponents turn. It's useful useful useful. Good card.
And now all we have left are the commons to go over. Commons can be flavorful and fill in some gaps. Few ever make real standard decks, but some have been good enough in the past. Let's see what Theros has to offer for some Blue commons.
So keeping in mind that we're looking at commons here, for being a heavy Enchantment set, this card is going to come in very handy in the limited and draft environment. A solid sideboard for any deck running Blue. Because you want to save the Dissolve for something really nasty.
And here's a dynamite common that I would stick in even a constructed deck if my build warranted it. A free Scry when an "unblockable" creature deals damage. I'm in. I love having creatures that can't be blocked, and this card fulfills my wishes.
Seeing as how limited formats are often much slower, and take much more time to win (usually), I see this being decent in a limited or draft build. The Flash makes the mana cost worth it, and then you get the bonus of untapping your tapped creature at the same time.
So if you need a card draw real bad, play this on something that's going to die real fast. Then you can draw again when you go in swinging. I would try to Scry first to make sure what you're getting is useable though. Just what I would do though, you do what you want.
Well of course it's good for the one mana. What kind of question is that? All you're paying for is the Scry, who cares what their creature loses.
Well, cool ability, but not worth 5 mana. No way no how. Still a decent limited card, but probably not worth a wall of scales anywhere else.
I like to Scry, so I like this. A 1/3 that lets me Scry 2 for 2, once again, I would pay 2 to Scry 2, so the creature is a bonus. Good common.
Same statement as before. Scry is good. And for the extra 2, if I play heavy instants and sorceries, this guy is going to be good for me for card fixing.
A little less good on the Scry, and I wish it was XU - Counter target spell unless opponent pays X. Scry 1. Cuz that would have been way cooler. Mana dumps are always nice. But WOTC would never listen to little old me.
Now see, that's just cool, cuz you'd pay 3 to draw 3, I mean most people would pay 4 to draw 3. But, the only thing that would make this a better swing, would be to have them discard 2 instead of having them put 3 from the library. Just my take on it though.
Hey look, it's Master of Waves girlfriend. She gets a +1/+1 from him. And that's always cool. So if you're playing him in limited, look for this chick to get a nice little power boost into being a 3/2 for 2. I'd say that's worth doing.
And that's about all the commons I really feel like talking about with Blue. All the rest (the remaining 4-6) are just vanillas with nothing much cool about them.
I would like to take a couple seconds and just say that I am pretty happy with the Scry in this set. Seems like it's really going to help weed through the stuff you don't really need right now to get to the stuff you really want to draw. In the long term, it's really a rough form of card advantage. Any time you know you're going to draw good is a good thing. Having control over that is even better. In a perfect deck, every card you draw is going to be good, but is it always WHEN you need it?
Alright, well that's my wrap on Blue in this set. Next up, we'll go backwards here and go through either White or Multi-Colored. Not sure yet which I'm up for. Depends on how much time I get.
