With some new mill cards introduced in Magic Origins, one card that shouldn't be overlooked is a card printed exclusively in one of the Commander 2011, Riddlekeeper. While Sphinx's Tutelage and Talent of the Telepath are getting most of the press, Riddlekeeper has slowly been ticking up in price. Not being a well­-known card, what makes it so special?

Riddlekeeper costs 2U and is a 1/4 Homunculus. Its ability is that whenever a player attacks you or a planeswalker you control, that creature's controller puts the top two cards of his or her library into the graveyard. This can prove to be quite a deterrent for opponents attacking, especially if you're playing a Commander deck led by commanders such as Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, The Mimeoplasm, or others that use the graveyard as a resource. As part of a greater mill strategy, it's sort of a small piece.

Still, being a Commander exclusive means that Riddlekeeper has room to grow price­-wise. It could double in price if the demand for it rises. It's a card to keep an eye on, as Sidisi in particular is becoming quite a popular Commander.

(Side note: the popular niche format Tiny Leaders has some use for Riddlekeeper too. It's a format with only 50 card decks with cards with converted mana costs of only 3 or less. It's typically an aggressive format, so the 1/4 body and ability could prove a lot more powerful than in regular Commander..)

Another FAQ coming next month!

Aether Adept is a pretty good card for a mere common. Not only was it one of the better cards in Magic 2011 and Magic 2012 Limited, but it's a favorite in the Cube draft format. What it does it quite simple: when she enters play, you get to return any creature on the battlefield to its owner's hand. This is a great card to be able to play on turn 3, setting your opponent back a turn.

While the Adept is hardly an exciting card, it's incredibly functional. In Commander, the Adept fits into a wide variety of decks, from ones that care about having a bunch of Wizards on board (Azami, Lady of Scrolls) to those that can abuse enter the battlefield abilities (Brago, King Eternal). It also works well with popular Commander cards such as Patron Wizard and Riptide Laboratory.

While the foils of a lot of useful commons and uncommons tend to get out of control price wise, copies of foil Aether Adept can be had for about a dollar. They're probably a good investment, as this card will always have some demand going for it.

The Pyromancer's Goggles are Chandra Nalaar's signature card in the Magic Origins set, and it's a Legendary artifact that could do some pretty nasty things. If Luis Scott Vargas (LSV) likes this card, then it definitely deserves attention. There are plenty of ways you could go with this card when it was in Standard. It has applications in Modern, EDH, and kitchen tables everywhere, too.

While it costs 5 mana, that's not too much for the Blue/Red counter-burn decks that wanted to play it in Standard to manage. Plus, it can tap for red mana as soon as you play it. So, Pyromancer's Goggles essentially only costs 4.

With cards like Magmatic Insight, Fiery Impulse, and Exquisite Firecraft in Magic Origins, there were plenty of options for spells to copy with Goggles during its time in Standard. Craters' Claws was another good card to copy - since its X cost is also being copied, allowing you to double down on damage. Pyromancer's Goggles made cards that were only OK before and turned them into powerhouses.

The draw cards Magmatic Insight from Magic Origins and Tormenting Voice from Dragons of Tarkir both have the requirement to discard a card (specifically a land card in the case of Magmatic Insight). However, by copying them, you're only discarding one card to draw four in return. This is because you only cast the card once, so you only discard once since the cost is actually only paid once.

Keranos, Lord of Storms was a great card to play alongside the Goggles in Standard. Keranos gives you card advantage and the potential to deal 3 damage on every one of your turns. The under-appreciated counter-burn spell Mindswipe was good to play in this sort of deck, too - plus the always useful Dissolve. With extremely efficient burn spell Stoke the Flames still in Standard at the time, this sort of deck could do some real damage.

Another card that could combo well with this card is one that LSV suggested in his preview of this card, Invoke the Firemind, which is in Modern. Essentially, you could choose to burn your opponent and draw cards, burn your opponent twice, or draw cards twice. That's hot stuff and well worth the original 5 mana investment in this card. Plus in Modern, you have Lightning Bolt, Lava Spike, and other powerful burn spells to copy. Aurelia's Fury, Lightning Helix, Boros Charm, and Atarka's Command work, as well, as they have red in their mana costs.

You could even copy an Epic Experiment and play a whole bunch of spells for basically free. That sort of combo deck has been done befor. Having the Goggles only makes it more consistent. Unfortunately, with all of the potential good combinations with Pyromancer's Goggles in Modern, being a 5-mana artifact in such a fast-moving format means that a Goggles-driven Modern deck hasn't emerged on the competitive scene as of 2019.

However, Pyromancer's Goggles has found quite a few homes in EDH. Commanders that play the Goggles include Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh, Neheb, the Eternal, Firesong and Sunspeaker, and Wort, the Raidmother, all decks that use substantial numbers of red instant spells. Pyromancer's Goggles has also been tried in some builds of Zada, Hedron Grinder, as it provides some redunancy for copying your instant spells, but it hasn't become a staple of the deck.

One Commander that hasn't really used Pyromancer's Goggles is Feather, the Redeemed. But, that's partly because Feather is Red & White and the Goggles don't help non-Red spells. Were you to build a pre-dominantly Red themed version of the deck, however, Pyromancer's Goggles is worth considering.

The other good thing about Pyromancer's Goggles is that the Core Set 2020 brought with it a mini-Chandra theme. That's good because these include THREE Chandra planeswalkers, Chandra's Regulator (which copies Chandra planeswalker abilities and also has a draw engine built into it), and Repeated Reverberation (which copies an instant, sorcery, or loyalty ability TWICE). So, if you're wanting to build a Red Spellslinger deck thanks to this card, you will want Pyromancer's Goggles.

There are a bunch of things you can do with Pyromancer's Goggles, and you really only need 1 or 2 copies in a deck, since it's Legendary anyway. The pieces are definitely there for it to be even more popular in EDH than it already is, although it's proven too slow for Modern so far. Of course, Pyromancer's Goggles has  plenty of casual appeal, as well, and it's well-deserved.

Terra Stomper was one of the 15 cards exclusively printed for the Magic 2015 30-card sample decks. Along with the other 14 cards, it was included in the Magic 2015 Deck Builder's Toolkit, as well. They couldn't be pulled from packs of Magic 2015. These cards included reprints of classic Magic cards such as Serra Angel, Mahamoti Djinn, Nightmare, Sengir Vampire, and Shivan Dragon.

With Magic Origins, Wizards has done the same thing with these sample decks, except there are now 16 cards, and it's not clear if they're also included in the Magic Origins Deck Builder's Toolkit this time around.

The 16 cards are as follows:

• Aegis Angel
• Divine Verdict
  
• Eagle of the Watch
  
• Serra Angel
  
• Into the Void
  
• Mahamoti Djinn
  
• Weave Fate
  
• Flesh to Dust
  
• Mind Rot
  
• Nightmare
  
• Sengir Vampire
  
• Fiery Hellhound
  
• Shivan Dragon
  
• Plummet
  
• Prized Unicorn
  
• Terra Stomper
  

The rares are all the same this time around, with a few different commons and uncommons mixed in. Former versions of these cards printed in previous sets are now legal in Standard, despite the fact that this particular printing is so limited.

Terra Stomper is particularly interesting because the last time it was printed in one of these sample decks, they were selling for several dollars, despite the Zendikar printing still selling for about a dollar. It was believed that with Stomper's 3 Green mana symbols that it may see some play in Mono-Green Devotion or R/G Devotion. When that didn't happen, the Magic 2015 versions dropped to basically match the Zendikar version.

The Stomper is a good card though. For 3GGG, Terra Stomper is an 8/8 with Trample that can't be countered. It's similar to Gaea's Revenge from Magic Origins, except that it doesn't have Haste or the protection from nongreen sources. But the trample in many ways makes it better since it can't simply be chump-blocked. With Gaea's Revenge seeing sideboard play already in Standard, it's not out of the realm of possibility that could be a could play in the sideboard against control decks.

Don't worry about trying to acquire these Magic Origins copies, though, as the Zendikar edition or the Magic 2015 printing will do you just fine. If you want to play any of the above cards, you're best off just finding an older, cheaper printing for now.

Back in July of 2014, some players were raging that Wizards of the Coast would reprint Grindclock in the Magic 2015 Core Set. Considering that it is a set with strong playables such as Chord of Calling, Shivan Reef, and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth at rare, this frustration is more than a bit understandable. However, mill is a very popular casual deck mechanic, and one even I myself have dabbled with on several occasions.

Grindclock was originally printed in the Scars of Mirrodin block, in which it was a bit better received. It’s an artifact, and there were some decks that could utilize it fairly effectively in Standard at the time. Grindclock has two tap abilities, one to put a charge counter on it, and another that mills a target player’s library X cards, where X is the number of charge counters on Grindclock. It’s become very popular in Commander decks in recent years where mill is definitely a strategy that is quite well supported. But it doesn't fit at all into the Standard environment.

However, let’s look at its Limited implications. It’s only a 2 drop that can tap to gain a charge counter as soon as its played. As in Limited you are typically playing with a 40-card deck rather than a 60-card deck, Grindclock literally does speed up the game clock, often milling cards your opponent will need to win the game into their graveyard before they can draw them. With a card like Mind Sculpt already in Magic 2015, there is already a minor mill sub-theme going on. So in Limited, if you’re going for a control type build, Grindclock is not the worst rare draft in the world, and it’s likely never going to be first-picked.

One cool combination that existed in the Magic 2015 set was with the two-drop Enchantment, Ensoul Artifact, which turns an artifact into a 5/5 creature. A Grindclock that is also a 5/5 creature is pretty fun. But you're not going to build around that interaction.

So is Grindclock sort of a weak rare? It is for many people. But do remember, Core Sets are going to have a few cards for different sorts of players. Grindclock is one of those cards that some newer players or more casual players will want to run and it does have utility in Commander, so it’s not a bad reprint from that perspective. I’m not going to want to open any Grindclocks, personally, but when I draft the set I’m perfectly happy to draft one of the value uncommons in the set over that anyway.

In Standard, mill was not really a thing in the format anymore. Phenax, the God of Mill (technically he’s Phenax, God of Deception) was a potential core piece of a mill deck, but that plan never emerged as viable competitively.

Phenax allows for a lot of card milling to go on., but mill simply never had a deck that actually emerged into a real contender in the Standard meta-game. Gaining a card like Mind Sculpt in Magic 2015, which is a sorcery for 1U that mills a target opponent 7 cards, didn't even help. Consuming Aberration, one of the deck’s main win conditions rotated out of Standard that following October. Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, an often overlooked planeswalker, which looked to be a strong piece of a mill deck, remained a part of the post-Return To Ravnica block Standard. But it never made a mill deck work, except in Modern where more powerful mill cards exist.

That being said, Grindclock was perhaps the worst rare you could pull from a Magic 2015 booster box… But it kept up a mill sub theme that seems to emerge in a lot of Core Sets. So it made sense, even if it was sort of a seemingly random inclusion in a set meant to make artifacts into 5/5 powerhouses...

With the introduction of the Heroic mechanic in Theros, many players were hopeful that Wizards had introduced a truly competitive archetype. Although Heroic has never done what Wizards R&D hoped that it would in the competitive game, it's had its moments winning minor tournaments here and there and placing well in Magic Online daily competitions.

Though the Heroic mechanic was printed on plenty of decent cards, Dawnbringer Charioteers from Journey into Nyx was never going to be another stalwart card in the archetype. It’s a 2/4 with Flying and Lifelink for 2WW, which isn't incredibly exciting. Its Heroic ability is that each time that it’s targeted, you put a +1/+1 counter on it. This is an ability that's appeared on a good number of Heroic creatures, and it's not bad for an uncommon.

Unfortunately, this isn't an uncommon. That's a gold symbol there for the rarity - it's a rare. It was even a featured card in a Journey into Nyx Intro Pack. In Limited, this card was always a decent pick, though. A flier with lifelink for 4 mana is a strong play, especially with how easy Heroic was to build around in the Theros block Limited environment. Having this at uncommon would've made it a format All-Star rather than just an okay rare-draft.

However, a 2/4 for 4 mana simply isn't too fantastic in Constructed, as it doesn't do anything outside of get a bit bigger. Competitive Heroic decks need to conserve their mana and a 4 drop Heroic creature just isn't going to cut it with such underwhelming stats.

From a casual perspective, the Charioteers are a Human Soldier, so it’s playable in a Heroic Soldier deck in Commander if you desperately need one more Heroic creature. But besides that, it's just a bulk rare with no long-term value.

Hello Everybody! I'm Crazy About Mtg! Full Art Lands were in the first Zendikar block, but will they be in the Battle for Zendikar block? That would be super fun for me, because they are ~20$, and I find them cool but have never found the real need for them, so I therefore don’t own any. If they did have them in the upcoming Battle for Zendikar block, I would happily own them!

Where To Find Them If They Are In BFZ

In the original Zendikar block, though I didn’t buy any packs from it, I believe they came in the booster pack land slot and in fat packs. That would be simply amazing to pick up like a 40$ fat pack and get 80 Full Art lands. Sadly, Zendikar Fat Packs go for almost 350$ these days. But if they are in BFZ, I’m assuming they will be the usual MSRP or 40$. Correct me if I’m wrong. I might be wrong because I didn’t actually play Magic when Zendikar was in Standard.

Why Would They Be In BFZ?

Mark Rosewater, a Lead Designer for many Magic sets confirmed that Full Art lands were coming back in an upcoming block, and Battle For Zendikar seems like a likely choice. In the comments below, please tell me about your predictions and your favorite Zendikar Full Art Land. Mine is the Bowl Island (Look at the top picture and you’ll see what I mean :) )

Xathrid Demon is an interesting card from Magic 2010 that was reprinted in the Commander 2014 deck, Sworn to Darkness. It has some upside as a 7/7 for 6 mana, and 3 black mana symbols to help with Devotion for popular mono-Black cards like Erebos, God of the Dead and Grey Merchant of Asphodel.

But according to Metamox, a site with copious amounts of info on Magic cards, Xathrid Demon is "unplayably bad." Still, there is some demand, especially for foils. In July 2015, popular online Magic card retailer StrikeZone Online was buying them for almost $6. This is odd, considering that most retailers would sell Xathrid Demon foils for about $3. So did StrikeZone know something that the rest of us don't? Is this card actually more valuable than the majority of dealers and players believe?

Xathrid Demon does have some interesting things going for it. Not only is it a 7/7, but it flies and has trample. At the beginning of each of your upkeeps, you must sacrifice a creature other than Xathrid Demon. Each opponent loses life equal to the sacrificed creature's power. If for some reason you can't sacrifice a creature, you tap the Demon and lose 7 life.

The upside of a card like this is that there are plenty of reasons to sacrifice creatures in a Mono-Black deck. With cards like Grave Pact, Dictate of Erebos, and Butcher of Malakir hurting your opponents by forcing them to sacrifice a creature whenever you sacrifice a creature, this Demon has definite utility.

Mono-Black also has creatures like Mikaeus the Unhallowed, which gives creatures undying, so you can reuse the creatures you sacrifice. There are plenty of other ways to make tokens every turn that you can sacrifice. So most of the time, you can make the Demon do a great deal of work for you. That, and the Demon can deal a good amount of damage on its own.

It would seem to me that MetaMox greatly undervalues this card. Being a Demon, which is a very popular tribe in Magic, Xathrid Demon will have its fans just for collectible value. There are some interesting applications for this card, especially in Commander.

I'm not sure that there's a ton of money to be made on this card. But, since foils can be had pretty cheap, it's not a bad idea to see what your local buylists will pay for them and see if you can pick them up cheaper. It's probably doable. Most people consider it bulk, but to the right players, especially in foil, it's definitely a useful piece.

For fans of mill decks in Magic the Gathering, it's hard to not like Sphinx's Tutelage. While it isn't quite as nuts as Grindstone, the card that made mill decks a strong strategy in Legacy in the first place,  it does have its similarities.

The major difference between Sphinx's Tutelage and Grindstone is that with the stone, it didn't care if they were non-land cards, only if they shared a color. What makes Grindstone so powerful in Legacy is its combination with a card from Shadowmoor called Painter's Servant.

Painter's Servant is a two-drop artifact creature that makes you choose a color when it comes into play. Any cards that aren't in play, spells, and permanents all become that color in addition to their other colors. When it comes to Grindstone, barring a shuffle effect from a card like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, it would put all of your opponent's library into the graveyard.

Sphinx's Tutelage. has a bit of a drawback in that it will stop at lands. But it's still pretty powerful, and it activates each time that you draw a card. Two cards doesn't sound like much, but it adds up, especially if you're playing a dedicated mill deck that plays cards like Visions of Beyond (which will often draw you 3 cards and mill your opponent a minimum  of 6 cards). The ability for 5U to draw a card and discard a card is probably rarely going to be used. But it is there if you need it

As Painter's Servant is legal in Modern, it may be an interesting idea to build a Servant/Tutelage combo around what is already an effective Esper Mill shell in Modern. Esper Mill has won a number of Modern Daily events on Magic Online. This Esper Mill list went 4-0. It's just a matter of figuring out what comes out for the Servants and Tutelages.

The main issue with this combo, while it's pretty sweet and can mill a whole bunch of cards, you can end up with dead copies of Painter's Servant in your hand. The good news is having multiple copies of Sphinx's Tutelage in play is absolutely fine, as it just offers you additional triggers. Therefore, the Servant should only be in there as a back-up plan. Unlike in Legacy, the combo is not necessarily game-winning, but it doesn't need to be.

What would probably happen is that you would cut the 3 Crypt Incursion and 2 Lingering Souls from the winning Esper Mill list mentioned earlier and replace them with 3 Sphinx's Tutelage and 2 Painter's Servant.

The list would look something like this:

CREATURES (10)

4 Hedron Crab
4 Jace's Phantasm
2 Painter's Servant

NON-CREATURE SPELLS (28)

4 Glimpse the Unthinkable
4 Archive Trap
4 Path to Exile
4 Visions of Beyond
4 Mesmeric Orb
3 Mind Funeral
3 Sphinx's Tutelage
2 Trapmaker's Snare

LANDS (22)

4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
3 Island
3 Shelldock Isle
2 Marsh Flats
2 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain

SIDEBOARD (15)

4 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Leave No Trace
3 Ravenous Trap
2 Extirpate

While Esper Mill isn't a particularly cheap deck, it's become a consistent performer in the Modern format. Glimpse the Unthinkable is the most expensive card in the deck, and can be replaced with Mind Sculpt. The latter card mills 7 whereas the former mills 10, but it will save you quite a few bucks.

The rest of the cards, outside of the mana fixing, pretty much need to be there for the deck to work. It's not a given that the Servant/Tutelage combo actually makes the deck better. Crypt Incursion was the most removable card in the deck, and that card can gain you life that you could need later

Mesmeric Orb is probably the other card that could be dropped in favor of the combo, as it mills you as well as your opponent, but it quickens the clock and should usually hurt your opponent far more than it ever hurts you. Lingering Souls is a tough drop, as it can be cast from the graveyard. But if Sphinx's Tutelage and Painter's Servant works as well together as they seem to on paper, you won't need the extra creatures, as the Servant gives you a 1/3 blocker as it is.

Does a Modern Esper Mill deck armed with this combo seem like something you would like to try?

When it comes to figuring out undervalued rares from Dragons of Tarkir, it's hard for me to overlook Gleam of Authority. This Enchantment looks like a must-answer to me. It's a two-mana (1W) Aura that does way more than its mana cost would suggest.

First, the Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on other creatures you control. This is for each counter, not just each creature. Plus, it gives the creature vigilance and the ability to pay 1 White mana and tap to Bolster 1. Because it's an instant speed ability, it can be used at the end of an opponent's turn.

The best use for this card, sadly, would be in a Heroic deck, which lost everything when Theros block left Standard in October 2015. However, Gleam of Authority did sneak into an Azorius (White/Blue) Heroic deck at GP Kyoto in April 2015.  That being said, there were creatures that can amass +1/+1 counters still in Standard for some time. These included very playable cards such as Servant of the Scale, Anafenza, Kin Tree Spirit, Avatar of the Resolute, and Managorger Hydra, among others.

But, wow, this card is awesome in a Heroic deck with all of the +1/+1 counters that deck produces. Hero of Iroas makes this card cost only a single White mana to cast. Plus, it even gives you another way to Bolster. This card just seemed too good to not ever see play, but it just never got much of a chance without Heroic around in Standard. Even though there were enough +1/+1 counters running around for this to do something mean, it never really caught on.

However, Gleam of Authority does still see play in a few EDH decks, particularly with the Commanders Anafenza, the Foremost and Daghatar the Adamant. It's definitely a decent card in those particular decks.

Updated 2/21/18

Torrent Elemental once saw play in the competitive Sidisi Whip deck in Standard. Once the primary card of that build, Whip of Erebos, left Standard, though, it basically stop seeing play. That was in spite of a Delve-based Sultai deck remaining in the format. One of only a couple creature cards that can be played from exile, it seemed to be a good choice to see some future play. But, did that actually happen?

The Elemental is a 3/5 flyer for 4U. Whenever it attacks, you tap all creatures the defending player controls. That's a pretty sweet ability, actually, helping you to swing past big problem creatures. Since Sultai decks played huge creatures like Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Gurmag Angler, and Sidisi, Undead Vizier already, that tap ability can be a game-ender.

Then, if you happen to need to Delve it away, you can pay 3BB, 3GG, or 3BG to return it to play from exile tapped. It does have to be played as a sorcery, which is kind of too bad. Having to be played from exile at sorcery speed is probably why this hasn't seen more play in that Whip deck. It's basically been relegated to the sideboard in a lot of build to deal with Aggro strategies, but some players have mainboarded it with some success.

The big thing about Torrent Elemental is that it could survive Languish, the powerful-4/-4 board-wipe in Magic Origins that was a major removal spell in Standard for quite some time. It's really not a bad creature at all, and it seems playable. But, without Whip to bring it back from the graveyard, it lost a lot of its Standard competitive usefulness.

For awhile, this was a bulk mythic rare that vendors had high hopes for, and you could get them as throw-ins in trades to get some vendor store credit quite easily.  Unfortunately, a new deck never emerged for the Torrent Elemental. But, it's still a good card that may one day find a new home.

Servant of the Scale is a common creature that shouldn't be overlooked.. It comes into play with a +1/+1 counter on it. When it dies, those counters get to go onto another creature you control. Avatar of the Resolute is a two drop creature that gains a +1/+1 counter for each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter when it enters. With a couple Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, a playset of Managorger Hydra and the Sunscorch Regents topping out the curve alongside one or two Dromoka, the Eternal seems like a deck that should curve out extremely well.

So there is some place for this Regent to go in an upcoming Standard format. But what's driving the Amazon sales? Looking at dealer buy-lists, this seems to mainly be an Amazon-only phenomenon. The most curious thing is that the Regent buy lists for a quarter, which is above bulk. But the foil also buy lists for about a quarter.

It is a Dragon and it fits into a number of Dragon Commander decks. It also fits into strategies that love +1/+1 counters. I think of all the Regents, this will be the third of the cycle to emerge, after Thunderbreak Regent and Icefall Regent (which still has more room to grow). It just needs a standard rotation to see a rise in value. It's definitely a card to watch, and.the casual crowd is clearly ahead of the game on this one.

(And there is this B/W Revelation Control deck that runs 4 copies of the Sunscorch Regent. So there is definitely room for this card to do some damage.)

The Magic Origins Intro Pack, Demonic Deals, has an interesting mix of cards. But when considering which Intro Pack you're going to want to build around, is this black/red deck one to consider? Let's take a look

Creatures (20)
3     Nantuko Husk     
3     Undead Servant          
2     Malakir Cullblade
2     Shambling Ghoul
2     Returned Centaur
2     Enthralling Victor
2     Blazing Hellhound      
1     Kothophed, Soul Hoarder    
1     Fleshbag Marauder     
1     Cobblebrute
1    Revenant     


Non-Creature Spells (15)
3     Act of Treason     
2     Fiery Impulse          
2     Cruel Revival     
1     Reave Soul          
1     Nightsnare          
1     Necromantic Summons          
1     Chandra's Ignition          
1     Chandra's Fury     
1     Unholy Hunger          
1     Ravaging Blaze     
1     Weight of the Underworld

Lands (25)
14     Swamp         
10     Mountain     
1     Evolving Wilds

High mana costs are the first thing that stands out in this deck. It has very few early plays. So does this more deliberately paced deck make up for its somewhat steep mana curve?

Kothophed, Soul Hoarder is the cover card of this deck. A 6/6 flying Demon, Kothophed has an interesting ability: each time one of your opponent's permanents is sent from the battlefield to the graveyard, you draw a card and lose 1 life. This can make for some painful card draw. While paying life for cards in Black is common to see, this effect is a bit unique. On paper this guy looks pretty good, but he's quite high up on the mana curve.

The other rare in the deck is Chandra's Ignition. This Sorcery spell with a 3RR casting cost allows you to target one of your creatures and have it deal damage equal to its power to each other creature and each opponent. There are creatures in this deck that can make this effectively a boardwipe that also burns your opponent.

The first creature we'll look at is a reprint of a much older card, Nantuko Husk. He allows you to sacrifice a creature to gain +2/+2 until end of turn. This ability can be used as many times as you want. He is a 3-drop, but if you sacrifice enough creatures to the Husk, it can deal a ton of damage in a hurry.

Undead Servant has an effect that gives you a 2/2 Zombie creature token for each card named Undead Servant you have in your graveyard. For a 3/2 Zombie that costs 3B, that's not a bad effect, as long as you have one Servant in the graveyard already. He doesn't do anything if you don't already have one in there.

Malakir Cullblade is a two-drop 1/1 that gains a +1/+1 counter each time one of your opponent's creatures dies. It's not bad.

Shambling Ghoul is a 2/3 for 1B, but it has to enter the battlefield tapped. Returned Centaur costs 3B to cast and is a 2/4 that puts the top four cards of a target player's deck into the graveyard.

Enthralling Victor costs 3R for a 3/2 Human Warrior. He can grab a target creature your opponent controls with power 2 or less.

You get to untap that creature and it gains haste until end of turn. Ideally you would steal a creature, then sacrifice it to Nantuko Husk or the next card we'll talk about, Blazing Hellhound.

Blazing Hellhound costs 2BR to cast and has the ability to sacrifice a creature, plus the cost of one colorless mana, to deal 1 damage to target creature or player. Fleshbag Marauder is a reprint of an older card that has seen plenty of play in the past. When it enters the battlefield, you and each other player sacrifice a creature; the Marauder can choose itself.

Cobblebrute is a vanilla 5/2 creature for 3R. It does make for a good target for Chandra's Ignition, but not much else. The last creature is Revenant, which is a flyer whose power and toughness is equal to the number of creature cards in your graveyard. He costs 4B to cast, so most likely you'll be casting this much later in the game when you have plenty of creature cards in the graveyard already.

The non-creature spells are a mix of decent and not-so-decent.

Three copies of Act of Treason help the sacrifice theme of this deck. For 2R, you gain control of a target creature, untap it and it gains haste until end of turn. Like with the effect of Enthralling Victor, the main idea is to attack with it, then sacrifice it to your Nantuko Husk or Blazing Hellhound.

Fiery Impulse is a one-mana Red Instant spell that deals 2 damage to a target creature. However, it also has Spell Mastery, meaning if you have 2 or more instant and/or sorcery cards in your graveyard, you deal 3 damage to that creature instead. It's a fairly decent card.

Cruel Revival is a reprint of a card from Onslaught. It costs 4B and destroys a target non-Zombie creature, then you get to return a Zombie creature card from your graveyard to your hand. It's somewhat overcosted removal, even with getting the creature back to your hand.

Reave Soul is a Sorcery-speed spell for 1B that destroys a target creature with power 3 or less. This isn't bad, but it is a bit limiting.

Nightsnare is a bit like Duress and Mind Rot in one card. It costs 3B to play and gives you a choice. Your opponent reveals his or her hand, and you either discard a nonland card of your choice from it, or choose to have that player discard two cards. It's probably best used when your opponent only has two cards in hand. The choice is nice, but as a discard spell, it is a bit inefficient.

Necromantic Summons is a reanimation spell costing 4B. You get to return a creature card from any graveyard to the battlefield under your control. If you achieve Spell Mastery (2 or more Instants/Sorceries in your graveyard) it comes into play with 2 +1/+1 counters on it. That's a decent card.

Chandra's Fury is an instant speed burn spell that's seen Limited play in the past, as this is a reprint. For 4R, it deals 4 damage to target player and 1 damage to each creature that player controls. It's a bit narrow, but hoses players who have armies of 1/1 creatures. It's a lot better in Limited.

Unholy Hunger is another inefficiently costed removal spell. For 3BB, you destroy a target creature. With Spell Mastery, you also get to gain 2 life. Not all too exciting. Ravaging Blaze is interesting mostly for its Spell Mastery ability. It costs XRR, and it deals X damage to a target creature. That's pretty limited, but if you have Spell Mastery, it deals that much damage to that creature's controller, as well.

Weight of the Underworld is an Enchantment that Wizards loves to put in these intro packs. It costs 3B to cast and gives the Enchanted creature -3/-2. You'd likely be better off with a more efficient removal spell.

Improving the Deck

The primary focus of this deck is to keep stealing your opponent's creatures and sacrificing them. Meanwhile your creatures hold down the field until your Cullblades get big enough to deal lots of damage, or Kothophed, Soul Hoarder hits the board. You have to ramp up to enough mana to make spells like Chandra's Ignition and Ravaging Blaze to deliver the crippling blow.

The problem with the deck as-is that it has badly overcosted removal and the creature line-up is uninspiring. It's trying to be a Zombie deck, but it's not all that good. This deck would need a ton of work to be close to competitive even in a casual environment.

The first card you would consider to improve the non-creature spell side of things is Kolaghan's Command, a card from Dragons of Tarkir that has had an explosion of play in both Standard and Modern. It has 4 modes, of which you can choose two as you cast it.

Those options make it a good choice to replace some of the less inspiring cards in the deck. Ultimate Price is a better removal spell than Cruel Revival, certainly. There are also plenty of Red spells that do a better job than those in this deck.

Here's a possible list with improvements:

Creature-wise more copies of Fleshbag Marauder and one more Nantuko Husk would be something to consider. If you want to focus on Zombies, Risen Executioner is definitely a creature to consider.

A copy or two of the Delve creature Gurmag Angler would work as well; just be careful what you exile to reduce its casting cost if you're planning to care about what's in your graveyard. Sidisi, Undead Vizier is also a card you may want in order to use her Exploit ability to sacrifice a creature to get any card you want from your deck to your hand.

Creatures (20)
4     Nantuko Husk     
4    Undead Servant          
3     Malakir Cullblade
3     Fleshbag Marauder
2     Risen Executioner
1     Kothophed, Soul Hoarder    
1    Sidisi, Undead Vizier
2    Gurmag Angler

Non-Creature Spells (16)
4    Act of Treason     
2     Fiery Impulse          
2     Ultimate Price    
4    Kolaghan's Command         
1     Necromantic Summons          
1     Chandra's Ignition          
2     Ravaging Blaze     

Lands (24)
12    Swamp         
4    Mountain
4     Bloodfell Caves    
4    Bloodstained Mire

The red creatures are all removed since they don't really help the deck all that much, especially the Victors that were too narrow and the Hellhound for being inefficient for Constructed purposes. Revenant isn't the best win condition, so it goes as well. This means there can be much less red mana in the deck, splashing the Red for Kolaghan's Command, Chandra's Ignition and Ravaging Blaze. Bloodfell Caves and Bloodstained Mire provide the mana fixing. If you don't want to spend more on the Mires, you can add Mountains back in their place.

The better plan, however, is probably just to morph this deck into a Mardu Aggro or Mardu Dragons deck with cards like Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury. But with so many cards in those decks leaving Standard with the October 2015 rotation, it's probably best to take a wait and see approach before investing too much in improving this deck.

The best thing to do is to scrap the Zombie theme entirely and focus on aggressive creatures such as Monastery Swiftspear and Thunderbreak Regent in Red and moving into White with creatures like Soulfire Grand Master and Seeker of the Way, splashing Black just for Crackling Doom and Mardu Charm - possibly the Delve removal spell Murderous Cut, as well. Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury will probably replace Goblin Rabblemaster to some degree in these types of decks. Outpost Siege is an Enchantment you'll want to look into building around, as well.

All that being said, there really isn't anything here you'd want to build around if you're looking to use it as a shell for a Friday Night Magic or otherwise Standard-legal deck, unless you really just want to play Zombies with the sacrifice theme.

The Magic Origins Intro Pack Take to the Sky has you really do just what it says. It's made up of a combination of Flash and Flying creatures with some interesting Auras searchable using the 2 copies of Totem-Guide Hartebeest in the deck. It features two rares, Alhammarrett, High Arbiter and Soulblade Djinn. While the Arbiter is underwhelming, the Djinn may be better than some people think.

Let's take a look at this evasive deck:

Creatures (22)
3     Faerie Miscreant     
2     Sigiled Starfish     
2     Yoked Ox     
2     Nivix Barrier          
2     Watercourser     
2     Tower Geist     
2     Charging Griffin     
2     Thunderclap Wyvern     
2     Totem-Guide Hartebeest     
1     Alhammarret, High Arbiter      
1     Soulblade Djinn          
1     Aven Battle Priest
    
Non-Creature Spells (13)
2     Healing Hands          
2     Hydrolash          
2     Claustrophobia     
2     Suppression Bonds      
1     Negate     
1     Turn to Frog     
1     Celestial Flare     
1     Stratus Walk     
1     Murder Investigation     

Lands (25)
14     Island     
10     Plains     
1     Evolving Wilds     

Alhammarrett, High Arbiter is the featured card in the deck. But for a 5/5 flyer that costs 5UU to cast, all he does is reveal your opponents' hands and you get to choose one and your opponents can't cast spells with that name. It's basically a way over-costed Meddling Mage. But the Mage was only two mana., and yeah, it required guessing which card to pick, but it was a powerful card when it was legal in Standard.

Soulblade Djinn, on the other hand, is a bit more interesting. He has a sort of "super" Prowess ability, giving all of your creatures, including himself +1/+1 each time you cast a non-creature spell. While a 4/3 flyer for 3UU isn't fantastic, the effect makes the Djinn worth playing.

Onto the other creatures.

Faerie Miscreant is pretty interesting as a one-drop. It's a 1/1 flyer, and if you control another Faerie Miscreant when you cast it, you get to draw a card. Sigiled "Scryfish" Starfish lets you tap to Scry 1, which is useful for setting up draws. Yoked Ox is a 0/4 for one White. Besides the Miscreants, this creature lineup isn't off to an exciting start.

Nivix Barrier is a 0/4 for 3U with Flash. When it enters the battlefield, a target attacking creature gets -4/-0 until end of turn. That doesn't seem worth 3U for a combat trick. Watercourser is a 2/3 flyer for 2U that has the ability to get +1/-1 for a single Blue mana. Therefore it could be a 4/1 each turn for two Blue mana. It makes it awfully fragile but it's an ability that can be played before damage calculation in combat.

Tower Geist provides a bit of card draw for 3U. It's a 2/2 flyer that lets you look at the top two cards of your deck when it enters play. You put one card in your hand and the other card in the graveyard. Charging Griffin is a 2/2 flyer for 3W that gains +1/+1 whenever it attacks. Neither of these cards are too strong.

Thunderclap Wyvern may be the best creature in the deck besides Soulblade Djinn. It's a 2/3 flyer with Flash and Flying for 2WU. It also gives your other flying creatures +1/+1. It can be used as a combat trick or played on your opponent's turn for maximum effect.

Totem-Guide Hartebeest is good at what it does. It's a 2/5 for 4W that lets you get any Aura card from your deck, reveal it, and put it into your hand. The choices that it has in this particular build aren't the most wonderful, but it's fine for tutoring up a card that you may really need at some point.

Lastly, there's Aven Battle Priest, which costs 5W for a 3/3 flyer. When it enters the battlefield, you gain 3 life. Meh.

The overall theme in this deck should be obvious - these creatures for the most part are simply not very efficient. The Miscreants, Wyverns, and the Djinn are the only creatures that would be worth building around here. The Enchantment sub-theme, as you'll see, isn't all that wonderful given the cards you're offered.

The non-creature spells are for the most part very defensive. Healing Hands is a Sorcery that costs 2W and gains a target player 4 life. It does also draw you a card. Hydrolash for 2U gives all attacking creatures -2/-0 until end of turn and also draws you a card. I definitely like Hydrolash more than Healing Hands, as who wants to cast that at Sorcery speed unless you're in desparation mode? Hydrolash is at least a decent combat trick.

Claustrophobia is the first Enchantment we'll look at, and it's fine. For 1UU, you tap the enchanted creature and it doesn't untap during its controller untap step. This is a card that's actually seen some Constructed action in the past, specifically in Mono-Blue Devotion due to its 2 Blue mana symbols. If there's any card in here to stay, it's this one.

Suppression Bonds is an overpriced Pacifism, except that it can hit and nonland permanent. It costs 3W to cast and the enchanted permanent can't attack, block, or use its activated abilities. This is one of those cards that's fine in Limited, but when you're building a 60-card deck, you want more value for your mana.

Negate counters a target noncreature spell. It's pretty basic. Turn to Frog is a cute combat trick that's been a Limited All-Star in its previous printings. It's a great way to deal with a problematic creature. Perhaps it's not Constructed playable, but it's a fun card that does its job well.

Celestial Flare is a defensive card that's seen play in the past. It costs WW and forces a player to sacrifice an attacking or blocking creature. The fact that this card can be used on offense or defense makes it fairly valuable.

We now get to the main Enchantments in the deck that you'll want to seek out with Totem-Guide Hartebeest: Stratus Walk and Murder Investigation. The first one gives the Enchanted creature flying and draws you a card when it enters. But that creature can no longer block any creatures except those with flying. While that's not a serious problem, what in this deck would you enchant with it? The Hartebeest?

The other Enchantment, Murder Investigation, is much more interesting. It's a reprint from Gatecrash. You Enchant a creature you control, and when it dies you get X 1/1 soldier creature tokens where X is that creature's power. On the High Arbiter or Soulblade Djinn, that's going to make you a fair number of tokens, especially if their power is being boosted in any way.

Improving the Deck

This one is a tough one to figure when it comes to beefing it up. So many creatures in the deck are vastly underpowered when it comes to their contemporaries. In Limited this deck might stand up, but as is, it's just not going to cut it against any sort of optimized Constructed deck.

Basically you would cut the entire deck outside of a few of the better creatures. The Enchantment sub-theme may still be worth it, but you don't really need to invest in Hartebeest to make that plan work. But is there a decent "Take to the Sky" themed deck using only cards from Khans of Tarkir forward?

Be prepared, it won't be cheap:

Creatures (23):

4 Faerie Miscreant
4 Stratus Dancer
3 Silumgar Sorcerer
4 Thunderclap Wyvern
2 Archangel of Tithes
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Icefall Regent
2 Soulblade Djinn

Non-Creature Spells (13)

4 Mastery of the Unseen
2 Claustrophobia
4 Cloudform
4 Lightform
1 Sigil of the Empty Throne

Lands (24)

4 Flooded Strand
4 Tranquil Cove
8 Island
8 Plains

Bear in mind this is not an optimized list, but it basically follows the mana curve of the previous deck, although the mana symbol requirements in this build are more intensive. That's why 4 copies of the white/blue fetchland are included, as well as 4 of the white/blue tapland Tranquil Cove. The Cove will gain you 1 life upon playing it, which should make up for the slower pace of this deck.

Faerie Miscreant remains in the deck as the potential card draw is too good to ignore, and we want to have an early drop in the game. Stratus Dancer is brought in to basically serve as a flying body with Negate attached to its Megamorph side. Silumgar Sorcerer fits into the original theme of the deck, but it can Exploit itself or another creature to stop a creature spell from being cast. Already these flyers all do something pretty good.

Thunderclap Wyvern is maxed out since EVERY creature in this deck flies, so why not? Archangel of Tithes is a hot card from Magic Origins, and while its triple White mana cost may be tricky, the fact that it can so badly mess up your opponents ability to both attack and block, it's worth including.

I shouldn't have to say why Dragonlord Ojutai is good, being one of the best control finishers in the game. It also gives you the card filtering that Tower Geist gave you, but on a bigger body and you don't discard the other cards. It's also a pain to remove. Also, Icefall Regent acts as a third and fourth Claustrophia on a body that's tricky to remove, as well. Soulblade Djinn gets another copy.

The non-creature spells is where this deck gets interesting. We have 4 copies of Mastery of the Unseen. These make more sense when combined with the Enchantments Cloudform and Lightform.

All of these cards deal with the Manifest mechanic, which takes the top card of your deck and turns them into 2/2 creatures. Cloudform gives those manifested creatures flying and hexproof, while Lightform gives them flying and lifelink. Mastery of the Unseen allows you to Manifest the top card of your deck for 3W, but more importantly, when you get to flip your Stratus Dancers or Manifested creatures, you gain a whole ton of life.

Sigil of the Empty Throne is in here as a one-of to be a late-game win condition, making a 4/4 angel every time that you play an Enchantment, of which there are plenty in this deck. It's possible that it could get manifested and never be anything but a 2/2 creature, but that's OK. The two copies of Claustrophobia remain. But more often that not, you'll manifest a creature that you can flip over later.

How this deck would actually work would require some serious testing, but it keeps the spirit of the original intro pack entirely. How would you go about improving the Take to the Sky intro pack?

The Magic Origins Intro Packs are less about getting "bang for your buck" than introducing the concepts present in the set and giving new and/or returning players a place to start going about brewing a new deck. In the case of Brave the Battle, the Green/White Intro Pack, your "money" cards here are Outland Colossus and Hixus, Prison Warden. This deck, similar to the Armed half of the Magic Origins Clash Pack, focuses on the Renown mechanic, albeit not at all to the same effect.

Let's take a look:

Creatures (22)
3     Cleric of the Forward Order
2     Anointer of Champions
2     Knight of the Pilgrim's Road
2     Topan Freeblade         
2     Stalwart Aven         
2     Valeron Wardens         
2     Citadel Castellan     
2     Sentinel of the Eternal Watch         
1     Hixus, Prison Warden     
1     Heavy Infantry     
1     Patron of the Valiant     
1     Outland Colossus     
1     Vastwood Gorger     

Non-Creature Spells (13)
2     Wild Instincts     
2     Enshrouding Mist     
2     Mighty Leap     
2     Grasp of the Hieromancer     
2     Knightly Valor     
1     Titanic Growth
1     Vine Snare     
1     Valor in Akros     

Lands (25)
14     Plains
10     Forest
1     Evolving Wilds

As always, we'll take a look at the rares first. Hixus, Prison Warden is an interesting card that can deal with problematic creatures at instant speed. But leaving up 5 mana to cast him is rarely going to be part of the plan unless you are getting severely beat down. He's fine in a Limited environment and has some casual and Commander appeal, but in a Constructed deck you're going to want to spend your mana much more efficiently.

Outland Colossus, on the other hand, is a big huge Renown creature that can become a 12/12 fairly easily. He also can't be blocked by more than one creature. The primary issue here is that he can be chump-blocked all day. Obviously, though, if this guy gets a clear path through, he's going to pretty much end the game.

Cleric of the Forward Order is the first non-rare creature we'll take a look at and it's an interesting one. When it enters the battlefield, you gain 2 life for each creature you control named Cleric of the Forward Order. The good thing about this is that you gain 2 life no matter one, potentially being able to gain up to 6 at one time with this deck. For a "bear" - that is a creature that costs 2 mana and has 2 power and toughness - this is okay.

Anointer of Champions is a cute little card in that she can tap to give a target attacking creature a +1/+1 boost until end of turn. It can let you win battles that you wouldn't otherwise win and can make combats a bit trickier. Typically I'm not a huge fan of visible combat tricks, but it can make your opponent overthink how to block or not.

Knight of the Pilgrim's Road is a fairly vanilla 3/2 for 2W, but it does have Renown. That means as soon as he can connect with a player with combat damage, he gets a +1/+1 counter. a 4/3 for 2W is pretty solid, but you have to get through.

Topan Freeblade is a 2/2 with Vigilance and Renown for 1W, making him a bit more efficient than the Knight. Stalwart Aven is only a 1/3 for 2W but he flies and has vigilance, so the chances of this becoming a 2/4 flyer is pretty good.

Valeron Wardens has great synergy with other Renown creatures because not only do they have Renown, but it has Renown 2, gaining 2 +1/+1 counters instead of one. That means being a 1/3 for 2G isn't so bad, because the Wardens become a 3/5. Plus, the Warden allows you to draw a card each time one of your creatures becomes Renowned. This includes the Wardens. Getting a 1/3 through, however, can be a challenge.

Citadel Castellan is one of the better Renown creatures. While I'd recommend cutting it in the Clash Pack deck, in a dedicated Renown strategy, you can't really beat this. Already a 2/3 with Vigilance for 1GW, the Castellan has Renown 2 as well. A 4/5 for only three mana that also has Vigilance is pure value.

Sentinel of the Eternal Watch is a good way to make sure some of your Renown creatures get through. It has vigilance and at the beginning of each of your opponent's combats, you get to tap a target creature that player controls. This is all well and good but this is a 4/6 for 5W. It's not going to hit the board until late, so it's hard to say just how effective this would be.

Heavy Infantry is similar to the Sentinel in that it can tap down a target creature, but only when it enters the battlefield. It's a otherwise a vanilla 3/4 for 4W. So creatures that tap others down are clearly not very mana-efficient in this deck.

Patron of the Valiant is a particularly interesting card, however. When it enters the battlefield, you get to put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control that already has a +1/+1 counter on it. It's also a 4/4 flyer for 3WW, which are solid stats. It's probably the best non-rare card in the deck, and is a good friend of Renown creatures. Vastwood Gorger is a big fatty, a 5/6 for 5G, which though it has worthwhile stats in a Limited environment, should be replaced by a second copy of the Patron.

Non-Creature Spell Lineup

Wild Instincts is a bit of an overcosted "fight" card. It costs 3G and gives a target creature +2/+2 until end of turn and causes it to fight a target creature an opponent controls. It's similar to a card called Hunt the Weak from Fate Reforged. That card has the same casting cost, but gives the creature a +1/+1 counter instead of the temporary +2/+2 boost. The best card for this slot, however, would be Dromoka's Command, which can do the same thing as Hunt the Weak for only two mana, and give you other choices, as well.

Enshrouding Mist is awesome for Renown decks. Not only is it a one-mana combat trick that gives a target creature +1/+1 and prevents any damage done to it, if that creature is Renowned, you get to untap it. Mighty Leap is a Limited favorite that gives a target creature +2/=2 and flying until end of turn for 1W.

Grasp of the Hieromancer is an Aura new to Magic Origins. It costs 1W and gives the Enchanted creature +1/+1. But it does something even better for the case of Renown: whenever that creature attacks, you get to tap down a target creature an opponent controls. Knightly Valor is another new Aura, but it costs 4W, creates a 2/2 Knight token with Vigilance and gives the Enchanted creature +2/+2 and Vigilance. While that does a lot, playing an Aura for 4W is rarely a good plan outside of Limited.

Titanic Growth is a poor man's Giant Growth because Wizards doesn't want to print cards that give a guaranteed +3/+3 for a single Green mana anymore. Vine Snare is a conditional "Fog" card that costs 2G and prevents any damage dealt by creatures with power 4 or less. That can be an absolute blowout if you already control creatures that can then block and kill the attacking creatures without a second thought.

Besides the Grasp of the Hieromancer, the other interesting Enchantment in the deck is Valor in Akros. It costs 3W to cast, but whenever you play a creature, all creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. This includes tokens. It's sort of a poor man's Cathars' Crusade, which would put +1/+1 counters on your creatures rather than just the temporary boost. Alas, that card is from Avacyn Restored and long out of Standard. But this is still a good Enchantment nonetheless, especially if you can play multiple creatures in a turn.

Improving the Deck

Lots of tweaks are to be made here.

Creatures (22)

3     Consuls' Lieutenant
3     Anointer of Champions
4     Topan Freeblade         
4     Valeron Wardens         
3     Citadel Castellan     
3     Patron of the Valiant     
2     Outland Colossus     

Non-Creature Spells (14)

4   Dromoka's Command
4   Grasp of the Hieromancer
3   Enshrouding Mist         
1    Titanic Growth
1    Vine Snare     
1    Valor in Akros     

Lands (24)

12     Plains
8     Forest
4     Blossoming Sands

The first thing to do is include one of the best Renown creatures in the set with Consuls' Lieutenant. They will replace Cleric of the Forward Order. He's a 2/1 with first strike for two White mana and has Renown 1. Once he's Renowned, every time he attacks, all other creatures you control gain +1/+1 until end of turn. Three copies should be good as he's a double-white creature.

We'll add another Anointer of Champions, but we could also replace all three of them with the 2/1 Dragon Hunter from Khans of Tarkir. But the ability to help us win some extra combats seems to make the Anointers okay to include here.

Topan Freeblade is maxed out in favor of Knight of the Pilgrim's Road. Valeron Wardens are also maxed out to take advantage of the card draw and Renown 2. Another copy of Citadel Castellan is added, as well. Gone are the Stalwart Aven and Heavy Infantry. Two copies of Patron of the Valiant replace the Sentinel of the Eternal Watch. One more Outland Colossus replaces the Vastwood Gorger. Hixus, Prison Warden also comes out for not having real synergy with the deck.

The most expensive new inclusion to the deck is 4 copies of Dromoka's Command. Not only can it do the same thing as Hunt the Weak, but gives you two other options, as well. While Dromoka's Command doesn't activate Renown, it can put a +1/+1 counter on a creature that otherwise might not and has great synergy with Patron of the Valiant. Grasp of the Hieromancer is maxed out because of the ability to tap down opponent's creatures. A third Enshrouding Mist replaces the 25th land in the deck, as we'll be adding a full playset of the Green/White tapland from Khans of Tarkir to make better mana fixing. One copy each of Titanic Growth, Vine Snare, and Valor in Akros remain for now.

These are obviously only suggestions to make the deck function better as is. You could easily include creatures with the Bolster mechanic, such as Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit and Dragonscale General to improve upon the +1/+1 counter theme in the deck. You could put in Dromoka, the Eternal and her Bolster 2 ability in, as well.

There are many ways that this deck could be improved upon. What direction do you believe you would take in upgrading the Brave the Battle Intro Pack?

by Richard Rowell, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

The Magic Origins Intro Packs are not the strongest ever we've seen. The Elf-heavy Hunting Pack intro pack, though, is one of the better value decks we've seen in a long time. The artifact-based Assemble Victory Intro Pack offers value in a different way, giving you a fascinating assortment of cards that actually work pretty well together.

Assemble Victory is led by Chandra's parents, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, an okay card in their own right. Like every Intro Pack there are some head-scratcher card choices, but it highlights some of the more interesting commons and uncommons in the set.

Let's take a look at the deck list;



CREATURES
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Bonded Construct
1 Runed Servitor
1 Subterranean Scout
1 Bellows Lizard
1 Maritime Guard
2 Chief of the Foundry
2 Ghirapur Gearcrafter
1 Ramroller
1 Thopter Engineer
2 Guardian Automaton
2 Aspiring Aeronaut
1 Separatist Voidmage
1 Whirler Rogue
2 Reclusive Artificer
2 Volcanic Rambler
1 Mage-Ring Responder

NON-CREATURE SPELLS
1 Prism Ring
2 Alchemist's Vial
3 Infectious Bloodlust
1 Disperse
2 Ghirapur Aether Grid
2 Artificer's Epiphany
1 Meteorite

LANDS
1 Evolving Wilds
13 Mountain
10 Island

The rares in the deck are Pia and Kiran and Mage-Ring Responder. As you'll see with this deck, Thopters are definitely a theme in Magic Origins. Getting three creatures for 2RR is pretty good, actually, but the 2R ability is a bit overcosted to be used on a consistent basis.

Mage-Ring Responder needs to have a way to be untapped outside of its own ability to be much good. The players most excited about it are artifact players in Commander. That's fine, but while the Responder has nice raw power, it doesn't need to be in a Constructed deck.

The best creature in the deck is actually Chief of the Foundry. It was about time that artifact creatures had a Lord. Yeah, Steel Overseer is better because he taps and gives all your artifact creatures +1/+1 counters. But this guy is pure value.

It gets even better with Bonded Construct, a 2/1 for one mana.  Unfortunately, it's unable to attack alone.. But with a Chief of the Foundry on board, that's a bunch of 2/3's that can attack together.

Unfortunately, the other artifact creatures in the deck aren't super exciting. Guardian Automaton is a 3/3 for 4 that gives you 3 life when it dies. That's fine, just not super inspiring. Runed Servitor is a reprint from Rise of the Eldrazi, and when it dies, every player draws a card. The last one is Ramroller, a 2/3 for 3 that has to attack every turn if able - but it gains +2/+0 with another artifact on board.

But there are decent other creatures in the deck. Ghirapur Gearcrafter is a 2/1 for 2R, which doesn't sound great, but he comes with a 1/1 flying Thopter. Aespiring Aeronaut is a 1/2 flyer for 3U that also comes with a Thopter. Whirler Rogue is also pretty good, a 2UU with a 2/2 body that gives you 2 1/1 Thopters. It has another ability that allows you to tap two untapped artifacts you control and a target creature you control can't be blocked until end of turn. The best of these that come with a Thopter is the Thopter Engineer, which is a 1/3 for 2R but also gives all of your artifact creatures Haste.

Reclusive Artifcer is one of the most fascinating creatures in the deck. She's only a 2/3 for 2UR, but she has Haste and when she enters the battlefield, you may have her deal damage to a target creature equal to the number of artifacts you control. This can make for some pretty good removal

One of the other decent creatures in the deck is the Goblin Subterranean Scout. He's a 2/1 for 1R and when he enters the battlefield, target creature with power 2 or less can't be blocked that turn. That doesn't sound too exciting but there is a trick to it. With a creature like Goblin Piledriver or Goblin Rabblemaster that gains power when it attacks, you can use the scout's ability pre-combat and deal a whole ton of unblocked damage.. Talk about Goblins running you over.

Then, of course, you have some strange choices like Bellows Lizard and Maritime Guard, which make no sense at all in the deck. Volcanic Rambler is an odd choice, although a 6/4 for 5R isn't bad at common, and the ability to ping a player for 1 damage for 2R is... okay. But what's it doing in an artifact deck? Separatist Voidmage is also an odd inclusion in this deck. It's a 2/2 for 3U that returns a creature to its owner's hand, which is fine, but just really odd here.

The deck contains two very interesting Enchantments, which are interesting for very different reasons. Infectious Bloodlust is an Aura for 1R that gives a creature +2/+1, haste, and has to attack each turn if able. What's most interesting about it is that when the enchanted creature dies, you get to search your deck for another copy of Infectious Bloodlust and add it to your hand. While I don't see much synergy with this deck, it's an interesting Enchantment for sure.

Ghirapur Aether Grid makes a lot of sense in this deck. By tapping two untapped artifact you control, the Grid deals 1 damage to target creature or player. With the number of Thopters that this deck can create, that's a lot of potential damage that can be dealt.

Artificer's Epiphany draws you 2 cards at instant speed for 2U, which is pretty good - although it has a drawback that if you control no artifacts, you must discard a card. But I rarely see that being a problem. Alchemist's Vial is a useful artifact that costs two mana to cast and draws you a card, which is pretty good. It can be sacrificed for 1 mana to prevent a target creature from attacking or blocking. It's an okay ability, but the card draw is the best thing about it.

Prism Ring is an artifact that lets you choose a color and gain life every time a spell of the chosen color is cast by you. It's not as good as the other lifegain artifacts from past Core Sets, because it doesn't count spells cast by opponents. It's pretty mediocre.. Meteorite is cute, as we saw in Magic 2015, but it's not meant for this deck. It's not worth it as a mana rock that has a Shock ability, not for 5 mana.

Disperse is a useful card that returns a nonland permanent to its owner's hand. But one copy doesn't really do anything for anyone.

So how about improving the deck?

In the short term, adding Ensoul Artifact and Shrapnel Blast would make the most sense for improving this deck. But they are in Magic 2015, and won't remain in Standard that much longer. That being said, if you don't care about playing in Standard Constructed tournaments, these cards are really good. Ensoul Artifact makes all those Thopters you'll make huge threats and Shrapnel Blast can sacrifice a Thopter or any of your other artifacts to deal 5 damage to a target creature or player.

So let's max out on the Thopter creation and include some other useful stuff.

CREATURES
2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
4 Bonded Construct
4 Chief of the Foundry
4 Ghirapur Gearcrafter
4 Thopter Engineer
2 Whirler Rogue
4 Ornithopter

NON-CREATURE SPELLS
4 Ensoul Artifact
3 Shrapnel Blast
2 Artificer's Epiphany
2 Ghirapur Aether Grid
1 Thopter Spy Network

LANDS
4 Swiftwater Cliffs
11 Mountain
9 Island

While it will be rotating out of Standard alongside Ensoul Artifact and Shrapnel Blast, Ornithopter is the best card ever for this deck. Not only is it a Thopter and a great target for Ensoul Artifact, but it costs 0 mana and has synergy with everything in the deck.

Another copy of Pia and Kiran is added for consistency. The Bonded Constructs, Chief of the Foundries, Gearcrafters, and Engineers are all maxed out as they're the best cards in the deck. Another Whirler Rogue is added, as well.

For the non-creature spells, everything by the Artifcer's Epiphanies and Aether Grids are dropped. 4 Ensoul Artifact and 3 Shrapnel Blast are added. Also, one copy of Thopter Spy Network from Magic Origins is added.

The Spy Network is going to give you a lot more Thopters, as long as you control an artifact. Also, whenever one or more artifact creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, you draw a card. It's a card that's already drawn tons of interest from Commander players. Will it work in Constructed? We'll see just how valuable it is.

How will the deck fare after it loses Ornithopter, Ensoul Artifact, and Shrapnel Blast after rotation? That's hard to say.. There's Renowned Weaponsmith in Fate Reforged that can help with casting the artifact creatures, and will take the place of Ornithopter. The deck would focus more around Ghirapur Aether Grid and run more straight burn spells like Exquisite Firecraft and the like.

When Battle for Zendikar rolls around, we'll see what artifact support emerges. Until then, this deck is a decent place to start for anyone looking to play red/blue artifacts.

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

The Magic Origins set was very good to the  Elves tribe, and Wizards of the Coast did Elf fans a favor by including some of these great Elf cards in a single Intro Pack. Hunting Pack, the green/black intro pack for Magic Origins, was one of the best Intro Pack printed in a long time. It features two strong rare cards: Dwynen, Gilf-Leaf Daen and Managorger Hydra, as well as strong Elf creatures such as Shaman of the Pack and Dwynen's Elite.

Let's take a look at the deck list

Creatures (25)
3     Timberpack Wolf    
2     Dwynen's Elite
2     Elvish Visionary    
2     Thornbow Archer   
2     Leaf Gilder    
2     Yeva's Forcemage    
2     Deadbridge Shaman    
2     Eyeblight Assassin    
2     Shaman of the Pack    
2     Sylvan Messenger
1     Dwynen, Gilf-Leaf Daen
1     Hitchclaw Recluse    
1     Managorger Hydra    
1     Skysnare Spider    

Spells (11)
2     Eyeblight Massacre    
2     Joraga Invocation    
2     Might of the Masses   
2     Weight of the Underworld    
1     Macabre Waltz    
1     Nightsnare    
1     Consecrated by Blood

Lands (24)
12     Swamp        
11     Forest        
1     Evolving Wilds

Thornbow Archer is a one-drop Black Elf from Magic Origins that shouldn't be overlooked. Not only is she a 1/2, but whenever she attacks, each opponent who doesn't control an Elf loses 1 life. Obviously, she's pretty bad in a mirror match, but the life loss, while seemingly minor, adds up. If you can add a couple more copies to the deck, these suddenly become a lot more effective.

Leaf Gilder is no Elvish Mystic. The Gilder gives you a Green mana like the Mystic, sure, but costs you one more to cast.

Yeva's Forcemage is a reprint that has been good in Limited in the past, but +2/+2 until end of turn, while cool, isn't strong in a Constructed deck. 2G for 2/2 in Elves isn't quite enough.

Deadbridge Shaman and Eyeblight Assassin are two new Magic Origins Elves that won't win any awards, but do a good job for what they do.. Deadbridge Shaman is a 3/1 for 2B that forces an opponent to discard a card when it dies. The Assassin is a 2/2 for 2B that gives a target creature an opponent control -1/-1 until end of turn. Both of these are commons and are fine additions to Limited decks, but are a bit underwhelming for Constructed.

Dwynen, Gilf-Leaf Daen is a strong Elf Lord and she's easily the best card in the  "Hunting Pack deck. But with all the creatures you'll be casting, Managorger Hydra, while not an Elf, is going to get very big and be very hard to deal with.

But the real prizes here are two copies each of Dwynen's Elite and Shaman of the Pack,. The Elite give you two bodies for the price of one, and the Shaman can cripple an opponent as soon as it hits the battlefield.

The three Timberpack Wolves seem a bit random, but they do become bigger with each copy you play. Still, they're an odd choice for an Elf deck. Elvish Visionary is a simple 1/1 for 1G that draws you a card, but it's good enough that it's been played competitively.

Sylvan Messenger has been reprinted a few times, but not in a Standard-legal set since way back with her debut in Apocalypse.. The Messenger is good as ever, though. A 2/2 with Trample for 3G looks a bit strange, but her effect is why you play her.

When the Messenger enters the battlefield, you reveal the top four cards of your deck. You get to put all Elf cards revealed that way into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your deck in any order. In a dedicated Elf deck, this is an awesome effect. Who doesn't want to potentially pick up 4 cards for 4 mana?

The last two creatures in the deck are a bit oddly chosen. They're both spiders? Hitchclaw Recluse is a 1/4 with Reach for 2G and Skysnare Spider is a 6/6 with Vigilance and Reach for 4GG. They don't fit in with the deck at all, although the Skysnare is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Understandably, you can't have an intro pack with a full play-set (four copies) of any one card, so that's why there are some strange creature choices in here.. But conspicuously absent from the deck is Gnarlroot Trapper, a one-drop Elf with two tap abilities. One is to tap or green mana, although you have to pay 1 life and only use that mana to cast an Elf creature spell. The second is to give an attacking Elf you control deathtouch until end of turn. Investing in these would be a good place to start improving this deck.

Onto the non-creature spells, the list has two copies of an interesting sort of board-wipe in Eyeblight Massacre. If you play nothing but Elves, giving all other creatures -2/-2 is going to devastate a lot of players. While 2BB is a lot to pay for only -2/-2, it skips over your Elves. In Constructed it's probably more of a sideboard card that one to be main-boarded. It's still a cool card.

Joraga Invocation can be a finisher if played at the right time, giving all your creatures +3/+3 until end of turn. One thing I don't care for is that your creatures then have to be blocked if able. While this can be a rout for your opponent, it's not like your creatures gain trample or anything, and 4GG is a steep price to pay for a card that's not Overrun.

Might of the Masses is a card I can get behind. For a single Green mana, this Instant gives a target creature +1/+1 for each creature you control. This can be even better than the classic Giant Growth if you get enough creatures on board. That's not hard to do with Elves. This card has been a Pauper favorite since its original release in Rise of the Eldrazi. But in this Standard environment, it may actually see some play.

Weight of the Underworld is an Enchantment that costs 3B to cast and gives a target creature -3/-2. That's a bit highly costed to serve as Constructed removal. Macabre Waltz allows you to get two creature cards back from your graveyard, but you have to discard a card, too. Nightsnare is an unusual discard card, which allows you to choose a nonland card from your opponents hand and discard it - the unusual part is that you can choose to have your opponent discard two cards of your own choice instead. It's like a Mind Rot with choices. I'm not really a fan of any of these cards, although Nightsnare is cool in Limited.

We finish with a cute Enchantment, Consecrated by Blood. It costs 2BB to cast and gives the Enchantment creature +2/+2 and flying. It also gives it the ability to sacrifice two creatures in order to regenerate it. It's no Gift of Orzhova and while I like it in Limited, what's it doing in an Elf deck?

With all my issues with some of the card choices in the deck, Intro Packs are meant to contain a wide variety of cards. But from a value standpoint, you're getting a lot of bang for your buck with the two rares and decent uncommons like the Shaman of the Packs, Sylvan Messenger,s and Dwynen's Elites. If we were to make some quick fixes to the deck, this is what it might look like::

Creatures (28)
4 Gnarlroot Trapper
4 Dwynen's Elite
4 Elvish Visionary    
4 Thornbow Archer   
4 Shaman of the Pack    
4 Sylvan Messenger
2  Dwynen, Gilf-Leaf Daen
2  Managorger Hydra
     
Spells (8)
2  Eyeblight Massacre    
2  Joraga Invocation    
4  Might of the Masses    

Lands (24)
11 Swamp        
9  Forest        
4  Jungle Hollow (G/B Tap Land)

These changes focus completely on the Elves themselves, lowering the mana curve considerably. The expensive removal is out for additional copies of Might of the Masses and maxing out the creature line-up. The inexpensive mana base fix is to include the Green/Black tapland Jungle Hollow. Eyeblight Massacre and Joraga Invocation stay since they still work for the deck even if they may not be cards typically seen in high-level play. These additions would likely cost you no more than $10-15 USD.

Alternatively, if you want to spend more money, the 2 Eyeblight Masacre and 2 Joraga Invocation could be replaced with 4 Collected Company. Since much of your deck is now creatures with mana costs of 3 or less (including the Hydras) you have the potential of dropping two creatures directly into play more often than not. Those are some fairly expensive additions, however. You can also swap out the Hydras for two copies of Gilt-Leaf Winnower.

The "Hunting Pack" Intro Pack proved to be a great way for newer players to experience Green/Black Elves. Even now, it's still a strong Intro Pack.

Updated 2/21/2018

While Colossus of Akros is considered a bulk rare by many folks, this monster of an artifact creature tends to sell for as much as $2 due to his casual appeal alone.  Theros' Monstrosity mechanic did some cool things with All-Star creatures such as Fleecemane Lion and Polukranos, World-Eater. But why would someone want an 8-drop 10/10 that has defender?

First of all, the Colossus is indestructible, so unless someone has a way to exile him, you have a huge 10/10 blocker. Then, if you can gather up 10 mana at once, he gains Monstrosity and 10 +1/+1 counters. Then, not only can attack as if he didn't have defender, but he gains trample as well.

Basically, you just need a ton of mana to make this guy work. Commander decks led by Ezuri, Renegade Leader (with all of the Green mana created by its Elf mana producers) to Animar, Soul of Elements (who can cast it for free) to Mayael the Anima (who can play it directly to the field with her ability). Creatures with unique combinations of abilities like this, no matter how expensive it may appear, will always have long-term appeal. Artifact creatures are also becoming more and more popular with more artifact support being printed all the time.

Do you see Colossus of Akros being worked into any Commander deck that you might have? If you don't, just keep in mind that trading it in to a vendor or local game store at bulk rare value isn't the best way to unload your Colossi.

So not only was the Colossus a Limited bomb and a competitive Constructed no-show He's actually worth keeping around for the long-term.

With the XY Roaring Skies set, the Pokemon Trading Card Game did something interesting. There are actually two Rayquaza EX cards in the set, as well as two Mega Rayquaza EX cards in the set, as well. We'll take a look at all four cards here today.

Rayquaza EX #60 and Mega Rayquaza EX #61 are two of the most straightforward Pokemon cards ever in terms of power level. On the surface, Rayquaza EX has some power, but seems to come up short when it comes to matching up with his EX brethren. 180 HP isn't bad, though.

His first attack, Dragon Claw, is hardly exciting. 30 damage for 2 colorless energy simply doesn't do much for anybody. His other attack, Dragon Strike, deals 130 damage for 2 Fire, 1 Electric, and 1 Colorless Energy. However, it's one of those coin flip attacks, so if you hit tails, Rayquaza EX can't use Dragon Strike the next turn. This doesn't seem all too fun.

However, the great news is that Rayquaza EX curves out perfectly into his Mega Evolution.

For 3 Fire, 1 Electric, and one Colorless Energy, Dragon Ascent deals a whopping 300 damage. While you do have to discard 2 energy, 300 damage is enough to knock out pretty much any EX Pokemon.

The other cool thing is what sets this Mega Evolution apart from the other one. It has the ability to reduce damage taken from Grass,  Fire, Water, and Electric Pokemon by 20 - after applying Weakness and Resistance. Like all Dragon Pokemon nowadays, Rayquaza EX and Mega Rayquaza alike have 2x weakness to Fairy-type Pokemon.

230 HP isn't quite as high as other Mega Evolutions, but the attack power is formidable. This raw power made this version of Mega Rayquaza EX a #1 Best Seller among new Single Card releases on Amazon.

Rayquaza EX #75 is quite different from his in-set counterpart. He has a little bit less HP at 170, but his first attack, Intensifying Burn, is extremely relevant in an EX happy game. It takes only one energy, and does only 10 damage, unless the opposing Pokemon is an EX, in which case it does 50 more. That's quite a wallop for a single energy.

The second attack isn't quite as exciting, but it takes three Colorless energy and deals 100. The cost is discarding the top 3 cards of your deck. It's not the worst drawback, and this being colorless makes it quite versatile.

So what will the second Mega Evolution look like?

At first glance, Mega Rayquaza EX #105 doesn't look quite as exciting as its in-set counterpart. But this Mega Rayquaza has a special Evolution ability. You can evolve your Rayquaza EX on your FIRST turn or as soon as you play it. Ordinarily, you'd have to wait an entire turn. While the Mega Evolution still causes you to end your turn, this is a big deal tempo wise.

This Mega Rayquaza has an attack called Emerald Break, which costs 3 Colorless energy and deals 30 damage for each of your Benched Pokemon. This limits its power to 150 raw damage, but considering you could unleash this damage on Turn 2 with no drawback is really impressive.

The cool thing about having two Mega Evolutions is that you can choose which Mega to use. Still, it's clear that #60 and #61 go together and #75 and #105 go together. Overall, the first pair has better synergy and more overall power. But the second pair trades raw power for splash-ability and an ability to strike quickly.

Which pair do you like better?