Category: Card Reviews - Life... Successfully

Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis - A Magic the Gathering Theros: Beyond Death Card Review

1/24/2020

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

The Elspeth planeswalker from the Infamous Theros Beyond Death Walgreens Leak turned out to be a real Planeswalker!

In one of the biggest early leaks in the history of trading card games, a Magic the Gathering player in Morristown. North Carolina discovered a bunch of booster packs from the Theros: Beyond Death set at his local Walgreens. Of course, that set had a release date of January 24, 2020. So, why could someone find packs of that set in a nationwide pharmacy just before Halloween 2019?

Whatever the reason, the anonymous Magic player did what pretty much any MTG player would bought all the packs and cracked them. Among those cards was the new Elspeth planeswalker. As a huge fan of Elspeth Tirel, and someone who was angered by her untimely death at the hands of Heliod during Journey into Nyx, I’m very pleased to see her return.

Yes, Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis is a real planeswalker!

The leaked photo was tiny, but was good enough to tell the details. Of course, it took some time, but the official spoiler of Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis proved that the leaked card was indeed the real deal!

Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis is a four mana White planeswalker (2WW) with 5 loyalty counters when she enters the battlefield. Notably, she has three abilities which all take away loyalty counters, with no 0 or plus abilities. However, this Elspeth planeswalker has an additional mana-activated ability that we’ll get to in a moment.

Her first ability is -1 (remove one loyalty counter) “Up to two target creatures you control each get +2/+1 until end of turn.” Obviously, that’s very solid. The second ability is -2 (remove two loyalty counters) “Create two 1/1 white Human Soldier creature tokens”. That’s a pretty standard Elspeth ability. The final loyalty ability is -3 (remove three loyalty counters): “You gain 5 life.” These abilities are all decent.

But, it’s the Escape ability that’s most interesting about this Elspeth planeswalker. For six mana (4WW) and removing four cards from your graveyard into exile, you can cast Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis from the graveyard. While this is a fairly hefty cost, the most notable thing is that as long as you can pay those costs, you can use her Escape ability as many times as you wish. Not only is it a flavorful ability considering Elspeth’s return from the dead, it’s also fairly useful.

While not as powerful as Elspeth, Sun's Champion, there's little doubt that Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis is a powerful Planeswalker. She will find her way into more than a few Standard decks, and likely become a fairly powerful Brawl Commander or Oathbreaker, as well.

How would you play Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis?

Ulvenwald Hydra - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

7/25/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner ofIntent-sive Nature & theBrand Shamans network

One of the biggest winners from the release of Gargos, Vicious Watcher from Core Set 2020 is Ulvenwald Hydra. Thanks to Gargos’ ability to reduce the casting cost of Hydra creatures by 4 generic mana, Hydra Tribal has become a new force to be reckoned with in EDH. Ulvenwald Hydra is one of a few Hydras that has become extremely cheap to cast.

With Gargos, Vicious Watcher on the battlefield, Ulvenwald Hydra costs but two Green mana to cast. His power and toughness are equal to the number of lands you control, which is great as he scales up as the game goes on. However, the best part about him is his ability when he enters the battlefield: you get to put any land card from your deck onto the battlefield tapped. Plus, he has reach, which protects you from pesky flyers that may otherwise be an issue. That’s a lot of value for only two mana!

Has Ulvenwald Hydra Seen Play in Other EDH Decks?

Previously, Ulvenwald Hydra had still seen some significant play in Commander in “lands matter” decks like Multani, Yavimaya’s Avatar, Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer, Mina and Denn, Wildborn, Nissa, Vastwood Seer, and more. Of course, he also saw play in the previous Hydra Tribal decks led by Polukranos, World Eater. In competitive EDH (cEDH), Ulvenwald Hydra has been an important part of some Lord Windgrace decks.

Did Ulvenwald Hydra Ever See Competitive Standard Play?

Early in his Standard life in 2016, Ulvenwald Hydra often saw play at one or two copies in the main deck of Gruul Ramp. Part of the reason he saw main deck play was that he served to block or trade with the Dragonlords who were big in Standard at the time. However, Ulvenwald Hydra was also important for searching out the colorless lands such as Sanctum of Ugin, Shrine of the Forsaken Gods, and Wastes that were needed to cast various Eldrazi cards in the deck that required pure Colorless mana.

By 2017, Ulvenwald Hydra saw Standard play out of the sideboards of the broken Aetherworks Marvel decks and later Selesnya Ramp. Some sideboards even ran the full four copies of Ulvenwald Hydra. He still served as an important defense against decks with flyers and the mana ramp was still nice.

While certainly not the most exciting mythic rare from Shadows Over Innistrad, he certainly was relevant in competitive Standard play. He’s certainly never going to impact Modern, Legacy, or Vintage, he’s a Hydra that will always find a home. Gargos, Vicious Watcher finally gave him a consistent one.

Triumph of the Hordes - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

7/21/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner ofIntent-sive Nature & theBrand Shamans network

Magic the Gathering's New Phyrexia booster set has a few valuable uncommon cards. But, Triumph of the Hordes became an $8 card based on the fact that it literally can make a deck triumph. Thanks to the controversial infect mechanic, it’s easily one of the most dangerous pump spells in Magic.

Triumph of the Hordes is a perfect example of an "oops, I win" card. It decimates blocking creatures with -1/-1 counters and tramples over to give opponents the required 10 or more poison counters to take them out of the game. That's not even to mention the +1/+1 boost it gives your creatures.

What's most impressive about Triumph of the Hordes is that its demand is almost entirely based on EDH play. It sees play in a wide variety of EDH decks, most of which are not remotely built around the Infect Mechanic. Titania, Protector of Argoth is the Commander who uses Triumph of the Horde most in the competitive EDH (cEDH) environment. But, many other Commanders can find a way to work it into a “go wide” gameplan.

The top ten Commanders that use Triumph of the Hordes in EDH, according to EDHREC, are:

Edric, Spymaster of Trest
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
Melira, Sylvok Outcast
Jolrael, Empress of Beasts
Seshiro the Anointed
Baru, Fist of Krosa
Sekki, Seasons’ Guide
Ezuri, Renegade Leader

Note that a few of these Commanders lead creature-based decks, and Ezuri and Edric often lead Elves decks. With how much mana Elf decks can create early in the game, Triumph of the Hordes can end a game fairly early. It's always been a bit of a headscratcher that Wizards of the Coast allows a player in EDH to be eliminated with just 10 poison counters even when life total start at 40. You would think it would be closer to 15 or 20 just to make infect cards like these more fair in the format, yet they have never bothered to tweak that rule.

At just four mana, it's a bit surprising that we haven't seen this card in more go-wide strategies in Modern. Occasionally, someone will slip it in. It's actually quite a mean card. Triumph of the Hordes is actually a miserable way for an opponent to lose a game.

What do you think of Triumph of the Hordes?

Chandra, Flame’s Fury - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

7/17/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner ofIntent-sive Nature & theBrand Shamans network

In most cases, a planeswalker-deck exclusive like Chandra, Flame’s Fury would be a fun casual curiosity. The planeswalkers in these Planeswalker decks are greatly powered down mirrors of their counterparts in their respective sets. But, with Magic’s Core Set 2020, Chandra planeswalkers are more important than ever. Thanks to a little rare called Chandra’s Regulator, suddenly every Chandra planeswalker ever printed becomes quite a bit more powerful.

What is Chandra's Regulator?

Chandra’s Regulator is a two-mana Red Artifact that allows you for a single generic mana to copy any loyalty ability of a Chandra planeswalker that you activate. So, even powered-down Planeswalker deck Chandra planeswalkers suddenly become a lot better than they first appear. In the case of Chandra, Flame’s Fury, her abilities become surprisingly a lot more relevant than they would be ordinarily on a comparatively under-powered six-mana planeswalker.

What Does Chandra, Flame's Fury Do?

Chandra, Flame’s Fury is a six-mana planeswalker with a casting cost of 4 colorless and 2 red. She enters the battlefield with four loyalty counters, which isn’t bad, but not great. Her +1 loyalty ability reads: “Chandra, Flame’s Fury deals 2 damage to any target.” A Shock is always a nice ability to have, but extremely underwhelming on a six-mana walker. However, with the Chandra’s Regulator, this is an ability well worth copying for the extra colorless mana.

Flame’s Fury’s −2 loyalty ability reads: “Chandra, Flame’s Fury deals 4 damage to target creature and 2 damage to that creature’s controller.” This is actually a semi-decent ability. If you were to just use this ability twice before losing Chandra, Flame’s Fury, that’s not a terrible return. However, with Chandra’s Regulator, this becomes a very potent ability.

Chandra, Flame’s Fury’s “ultimate” ability is actually a pretty good one. Her −8 loyalty ability reads: “Chandra, Flame’s Fury deals 10 damage to target player and each creature that player controls.” This is actually a nice finisher, even if it’s unlikely that you’ll usually get her up to the eight necessary loyalty counters. Chandra’s Regulator’s ability copying makes this pretty much an “oops, I win” ability.

How Good is Chandra, Flame's Fury?

As planeswalker cards go, Chandra, Flame’s Fury is pretty much the casual-only curosity that you would expect. But, because of Chandra’s Regulator, and the presence of three other new Chandra planeswalkers, “Chandra Planeswalker Tribal” is actually now a thing. Chandra, Flame’s Fury may be a fringe planeswalker, but with Chandra’s Regulator around, she will show up in at least a few Oathbreaker and Commander decks in the future.

Ashiok, Dream Render - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/26/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Ashiok, Dream Render is an uncommon planeswalker from War of the Spark with two powerful abilities. With how relevant his abilities are to both the Standard environment he enters and other competitive formats, it’s not hard to see why he was a top pre-order before the War of the Spark set release. Not only does he not allow your opponents to search their libraries, but he can also mill four cards while exiling opponent’s graveyards.

Ashiok, Dream Render Stops Opponents From Tutors and Searching Libraries

The first ability on Ashiok, Dream Render is especially important in formats like Modern because opponents can’t even activate their fetch lands! The best part about the ability is that you are unaffected and can search your library freely. Dream Render’s ability is also powerful in EDH where people are constantly searching their libraries with Tutors and similar abilities. Stranglehold is a powerful card in the format for this reason. Previously that ability was only available in Red and now it’s available in Blue & Black decks thanks to this planeswalker. This is an ability also relevant in formats like Legacy and Vintage, although it’s hard to say that Ashiok, Dream Render would see play in those older formats simply based on this ability.

Ashiok, Dream Render Exiles Your Opponents' Graveyards

Ashiok, Dream Render also has a second ability that could prove even more relevant than his Stranglehold-type ability. His minus-1 loyalty ability puts the top four cards of target player’s library into the graveyard, then exiles all cards from opponents’ graveyards. The wording of that is very important, because you can actually mill yourself, then Relic of Progenitus/Tormod’s Crypt just your opponents. Relic of Progenitus and Tormod’s Crypt see a lot of play in Eternal formats because of how powerful exiling the graveyard is against certain decks such as Phoenix, Reanimator, and Dredge decks. Because this Ashiok enters play with 5 loyalty counters, this is an ability that can be used a few times. Interestingly, this Ashiok planeswalker may be good in the very decks he’s good against.

Does Ashiok, Dream Render Work With Any Combo Deck?

While Ashiok, Dream Render doesn't currently combo with anything specific, there has been an interesting interaction found with the Dominaria Saga Fall of the Thran. That six-mana enchantment costs 6 mana to cast and destroys all lands. But, for the next couple of turns, each player puts two land cards from his or her graveyard back onto the battlefield. What makes this card even more powerful with Ashiok is that you can mill your opponent - or yourself - while exiling your opponents' graveyards along with all of their lands.

Basically, because Ashiok allows you to purge your opponents' lands from play, Fall of the Thran becomes one-sided and extremely hard for opponents to come back from. There's a Standard Esper combo control deck that puts this combo into practice called Ashiok Thran Combo. We'll see just how competitive this combo becomes in the format, but it is definitely a great interaction that can shut opponents out of the game.

Where Else Can Ashiok, Dream Render Fit in Modern, Standard, and Beyond?

It’s likely that Ashiok, Dream Render becomes a valuable sideboard card in Modern and perhaps even Legacy. At only three mana and a hybrid mana cost of blue or black mana, he can fit into a variety of archetypes without putting any strain on the mana base. He may come down too late to be viable in Legacy, especially since his graveyard hate ability is at sorcery speed, but he could still be relevant because of his static Stranglehold ability. In any case, he will see play, especially in Standard against Arclight Phoenix decks that he absolutely destroys if there are copies of Phoenix in your opponent’s graveyard. He may even come into play in Izzet Phoenix mirror matches. This is easily of the best uncommon planeswalkers we will likely ever see.

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/9/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner may only be an uncommon planeswalker card, but she’s one of the better planeswalkers in War of the Spark. At a casting cost of only three mana, one of which is a hybrid blue/green mana, this Kiora planeswalker is one of the easiest to play. She can fit in any deck that plays blue or green mana that wants to play bigger creatures on a regular basis.

Let’s see what this 3-mana Kiora planeswalker does:

Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner {2}{U/G}
Legendary Planeswalker — Kiora
Whenever a creature with power 4 or greater enters the battlefield under your control, draw a card.
[-1]: Untap target permanent.

Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner enters the battlefield with 7 loyalty counters. That’s a high amount for a 3-mana planeswalker, especially one with a single ability. Her first ability is solid enough: you draw a card whenever you have a creature with power 4 or greater enter the battlefield under your control. But, her -1 loyalty ability that untaps a target permanent is quite a powerful ability. Even if all you’re doing is untapping a land every turn, this Kiora can easily pay for herself during her time on the board.

Of course, because Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner is both a potential draw engine and mana accelerator, she’s also a target for your opponent’s burn spells and combat damage. Even if she does become a target, that’s just fine, because she’s saving you damage. What’s even more interesting is that in a set with multiple cards with Proliferate, there’s a good chance that even as you tick down Kiora, you can tick her right back up! Because Kiora has some staying power, she is very likely a metagame relevant card.

In Green decks, Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner can come down on turn two with something like Llanowar Elves in play. Then, she can immediately untap the Llanowar Elf or another land. People have talked about slamming down a Carnage Tyrant or a Hydroid Krasis for four on turn three. These are just a couple of the cool things Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner can do.

In EDH, Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner will find plenty of homes. Because her color identity is both blue and green, she won’t be able to go into Commander decks without both colors. However, that is far from a problem. Simic (Blue/Green) is already a potent color combination in the format, as are other Blue/Green/X decks. She also works in five-color decks. This Kiora planeswalker should become a staple in several decks in the EDH format.

This is one powerful uncommon and Magic players responded to her power level by making her a top 3 best seller on TCGPlayer during pre-orders. What do you think of Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner? Do you think her flexible mana cost, high loyalty count, draw engine, and powerful loyalty ability will make her playable beyond Standard in Eternal formats like Modern and Legacy?

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Lazotep Plating - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/9/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Lazotep Plating is one of my favorite cards from War of the Spark due to the fact that this instant is even more powerful than it appears from the surface. At first glance, you may think that this card only belongs in a Zombie deck that takes advantage of the Amass mechanic. But, in fact, this card can be played in many different decks.

Read what this two-mana Blue instant does:

Lazotep Plating {1}{U}
Instant
Amass 1. (Put a +1/+1 counter on an Army you control. If you don’t control one, create a 0/0 black Zombie Army creature token first.)
You and permanents you control gain hexproof until end of turn. (You and they can’t be the targets of spells or abilities your opponents control.)

First off, Lazotep Plating is great at either Amassing an existing Army or creating a new one. But, in decks that don’t care about Amassing an Army, that’s not a problem! Right off, this card makes at least a 0/0 token with a +1/+1 counter on it. In a Standard format that has Proliferate running around, this token will very easily be a 2/2 or 3/3 before anyone knows it. Right away, you’re either throwing a valuable +1/+1 counter on an existing Army token, or creating a new one. Already, this card is often replacing itself.

The second half of this card is really why you play it in the first place. This card gives both you and permanents you control hexproof until end of turn. That means if your opponent targets you with a spell or ability, that effect is essentially negated - without technically countering it. If you also happen to get a 0/0 token out of this card, then you have effectively two-for-one’d your opponent. That’s always a good thing.

Against burn, Lazotep Plating can shut out an opponent for an entire turn, and that’s not nothing. Obviously, this card is good in a deck built to take advantage of +1/+1 counters and Army tokens. But, it doesn’t have to be in an Amass deck to be an above-average spell. So, if you were wondering why this card was a top 5 best seller during War of the Spark pre-orders, you now know why.

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Bolas’s Citadel - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/7/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Bolas’s Citadel is a fascinating Legendary Artifact from War of the Spark. This card is sort of a strange cross between the powerful Instant spell Ad Nauseam and a popular enchantment called Future Sight. But, Bolas’s Citadel is more powerful than those two cards combined.

Let’s take a look at what this six-mana Enchantment does:

Bolas's Citadel {3}{B}{B}{B}
Legendary Artifact
You may look at the top card of your library any time.
You may play the top card of your library. If you cast a spell this way, pay life equal to its converted mana cost rather than pay its mana cost.
{T}, Sacrifice ten nonland permanents: Each opponent loses 10 life.

Is Bolas’s Citadel a better Future Sight and Ad Nauseum Combined?

Future Sight is an enchantment that has you reveal the top card of your library at all times. The advantage is that you can play the top card of your library. But with Bolas’s Citadel, you can look at the top card of your library at any time, but don’t have to reveal it. This means less information you give your opponent. Also, with the Citadel, you can play the top card of your library, but it comes at a price.

With Bolas’s Citadel, if you decide to play the top card of your deck, if its a spell, you pay life equal to that card’s converted mana cost instead of paying its normal casting cost. This is similar to the powerful Modern spell Ad Nauseum. That card allows you to reveal the top card of your library and add it to your hand as many times as you want. But, each card that you add to your hand comes at the cost of that card’s converted mana cost. (Lands cost zero converted mana, so they can be added to your hand for free).

However, there are ways to make Ad Nauseum work well as a powerful draw spell. For example in Legacy Ad Nauseam Tendrils, the deck plays eight zero cost spells and twenty-four one-drop spells. So, when you cast your one copy of Ad Nauseum, the chances of it actually draining you of enough life to be a problem are fairly low.

Modern Ad Nauseum operates a bit differently, using an enchantment called Phyrexian Unlife to actually allow you to go below 0 life in exchange for dealing infect (poison) damage to you instead. This only buys you 10 damage, but sometimes it’s all you need to draw into the card that you need to win - in most cases Lightning Storm.

How is Bolas’s Citadel different from Ad Nauseum?

Whereas Ad Nauseum adds cards to your hand, Bolas’s Citadel allows you to instead cast them. Plus, you get to see what the next card is, so you can choose not to cast it if you don’t want. Also, if you haven’t played a land card in a turn, you can choose to play that land without any penalty, essentially drawing you an extra card.

Plus, Bolas’s Citadel has a third ability. This tap ability allows you to sacrifice ten nonland permanents and have each opponent lose 10 life. While ten permanents is a lot - and it can actually include itself in the sacrifice - 10 life is a very substantial number. While this isn’t the main reason to play this card, it’s a nice weapon to have sitting there on the battlefield.

Will Bolas’s Citadel See Competitive Standard Play?

At six mana, Bolas’s Citadel is likely only going to be a single copy in a competitive deck, perhaps two copies at the most in a mono-Black deck.. Of course, Ad Nauseam is a five mana spell, so it’s not a huge stretch for this card to see play. The trick is playing a deck that can keep the game going long enough to cast the Citadel.

Fortunately, the Standard environment the Citadel of Bolas came into supported such a deck ready to play it. That deck is Esper Tempo, which proved itself as a formidable deck through Core Set 2020 Standard. Not every build of the deck plays Bolas's Citadel, but those builds that play Oath of Kaya and Elite Guardmage - both of which gain you life when they enter the battlefield - help take advantage of the Citadel's draw engine.

Bolas’s Citadel and Aetherflux Reservoir in Modern

The most obvious card that could make a Bolas’s Citadel deck work is Aetherflux Reservoir. People have been trying to make an Aetherflux Reservoir deck work in Modern for awhile with a card like Madcap Experiment to dig for the key artifact. Interestingly enough, Bolas’s Citadel may fit into that sort of deck. Because Aetherflux Reservoir decks can gain a substantial amount of life, a single Bolas’s Citadel could help speed the deck up significantly. This sort of deck, while it sounds good on paper, hasn't yet broken through into competitive play.

Bolas’s Citadel in Legacy or Vintage?

We have seen Ad Nauseum perform very well in Legacy, so what about Bolas’s Citadel? The key difference with the Citadel is that it allows you to cast cards, not put them into your hand. The sheer draw power of Ad Nauseum is key to the Legacy Tendrils deck digging into its key piece. While in theory having Bolas’s Citadel in play would be great - since you could play your Lotus Petals and Lion’s Eye Diamonds for free anyway - a six-mana enchantment is a lot to ask for in that format.

However, Bolas's Citadel HAS seen play in Vintage! You'll see the occasional Paradoxical Outcome deck run a copy of the Citadel. It's also a nice card engine for Tendrils of Agony Storm in Vintage. Bolas's Citadel can definitely see play in powerful decks if there's enough mana to power it out.

Bolas’s Citadel in EDH / Commander

The most obvious home for Bolas’s Citadel is in EDH. Six-mana Enchantments are much more at home in a format that takes awhile for board states to develop. Since you begin with 40 life in Commander, the ability to play many spells off of Bolas’s Citadel as soon as it hits the board is substantial. It’s very possible to play even a card that requires triple-Black in its casting cost earlier than turn six. Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, for example, make that cost easier to meet early on in a game. Also, black decks that also play green mana ramp should have little trouble casting Bolas’s Citadel on turn five or even turn four.

The number of decks that can play Bolas’s Citadel is quite high. Plus, that tap ability to sacrifice 10 nonland permanents could be abused over and over in decks that create a lot of tokens. Ten damage may not be enough to close out a game, but it’s much more relevant in multiplayer as it hits all opponents. It’s going to be a very popular card in the format and any deck that loves sacrificing creatures will have a ball with it.

The top Commanders early in this card's life included VIlis, Broker of Blood, Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, Kethis, the Hidden Hand, Massacre Girl, and God-Eternal Bontu. Of these Commanders, only Yawgmoth is particularly popular. Then again, the others likely will have many more decks built over time. The Citadel of Bolas also hasn't worked itself into as many decks as it could be in yet, either.

While Bolas’s Citadel may not see much competitive 60-card Magic the Gathering play, it will most definitely be a powerful card in EDH. Players were rightly excited about the power level of this card. What do you think of Bolas's Citadel?

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here.

Mobilized District - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/5/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

As Magic the Gathering manlands go, Mobilized District from War of the Spark is certainly one of the more versatile. This nonbasic land can become a 3/3 Citizen creature with vigilance until end of turn. That on its own isn't bad, even if the Citizen is not also a colorless land during that time. But that is only half of what Mobilized District can do. That creature activation costs one less for each legendary creature or planeswalker you control.

In practice, this land will be playable in a wide variety of decks. But, it will take a dedicated planeswalker control deck or a deck that plays an unusually high number of legendary creatures to make it reliably cost fewer than three mana to activate. Still, because the Citizen has vigilance, it can be used on both offense or defense consistently.

Not being able to remain a land while it's a creature isn't a terrible drawback. It reverts back to a land on the next turn anyway, so if you need to keep mana open for your opponent's turn, it's not a problem. Having vigilance is enough to make up for the drawback.

Mobilized District is certainly a Standard playable land. But where this Citizen land should really shine is in Commander. There are decks that reward you for playing a lot of legendary creatures. It's too bad that Magic players did not have access to a land like this during the legendary creature overload of Kamigawa block…

While Mobilized District is no Mutavault, it’s a very playable land. Plenty of Standard decks will find a way to play it just for the cheap or even free creature every turn. It seems like it will become a staple in a number of Commander decks, too. What do you think of Mobilized District?

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here.

Bulwark Giant - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/4/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Gideon Jura says: “Where did she come from? More importantly, are there more like her?”

Bulwark Giant is a six-mana common creature from War of the Spark. Gideon Jura’s interest in her aside, this 3/6 Giant Soldier is a pretty solid common creature to top out the mana curve on a Limited deck. Not only does she play defense and offense fairly well, but she also gains you 5 life when she enters the battlefield. That’s a good chunk of life in the late game, so definitely expect to see her in Limited.

Some Magic the Gathering players have mentioned that she may see play in High Alert-themed decks. High Alert is an uncommon Enchantment from Ravnica Allegiance that makes it so that your creatures deal combat damage according to their toughness rather than their power. It seems like she would be a fun top-end creature in that sort of deck, especially because of the lifegain attached to her.

While Bulwark Giant may not be much of a factor in competitive Standard, she is a decent common creature. If you’re trying to build Giant Soldier tribal, she’s probably a good card to consider, as well. She’s definitely a good addition to White’s common card pool in War of the Spark.

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here.

War Screecher - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/4/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

War Screecher is a decent Limited-playable Bird creature from War of the Spark. It’s a 1 / 3 flyer for two mana (1 Colorless, 1 White), which already makes it playable in draft or sealed deck. The War Screecher also has a tap ability for 6 mana (5 Colorless, 1 White) that gives other creatures you control +1/+1 until end of turn. While that ability is a bit pricey, in Limited, it’s likely an ability you will use in order to break a board stall or finish off the game.

While hardly an exciting creature, War Screecher evasive, blocks well, and provides upside late in the game. You can’t ask for much more from a 2-mana white common flyer. This should be an easy pick in War of the Spark drafts. Creatures like these aren’t meant to be playable in Standard. Still, you may find this guy in casual Bird Tribal decks, as that tap ability can end games with enough of a flying army.

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/4/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Tolsimir Wolfblood returns in War of the Spark as Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves. Is this Tolsimir better or worse than the original? The original Tolsimir Wolfblood acted as a sort of lord for your green and white creatures and had a tap ability create a legendary 2/2 Wolf token named Voja. Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves provides instant on-field value.

We actually saw Tolsimir Wolfblood again quite recently when he was reprinted in the Guilds of Ravnica Guild Kits at pre-release. For five mana (2 colorless, 2 Green, 1 White), Tolsimir Wolfblood is a 3/3 Legendary Elf Scout that brings a 3/3 Legendary Wolf token called Voja, Friend to Elves when he enters the battlefield. Then, whenever a Wolf enters the battlefield, you gain 3 life and can have that Wolf fight a creature your opponent controls. So, for five mana, you get 6 power across two bodies, 3 life, and potentially a removal spell. Even if your token simply trades with another creature, you’re already ahead.

Tolsimir Wolfblood was a 6 mana 3 / 4 Legendary Elf Warrior that gave other green and white creatures you control +1/+1. He could also create a Legendary Wolf token, but it was only a 2/2. The great thing is that if these two were in the same deck, the two Voja tokens wouldn’t clash, so you could have both in play at the same time.

Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves and Arlinn, Voice of the Pack

There’s an obvious synergy between the new Tolsimir and the new uncommon planeswalker Arlinn, Voice of the Pack. The uncommon Arlinn planeswalker costs 6 mana (4 colorless, 2 Green) to cast and comes into play with 7 loyalty counters. That’s important because her -2 creates a 2/2 Wolf token. So, it’s very conceivable that she can create up to three Wolf tokens. Better yet, Voice of the Pack has a static ability to give any Wolf or Werewolf that enters your side of the battlefield with an addition +1/+1 counter on it. This means that her Wolf tokens are realistically 3/3 tokens and she can be well protected by them.

Being that Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves is five mana and Arlinn, Voice of the Pack is six mana, these two cards can be played on curve. Also, being that green has pretty of mana ramp, these two can come down much earlier than turn five and turn six, respectively. But, as of this writing, there aren’t too many Wolves in Standard. So, Wolf Tribal, at this time, isn’t really workable in Standard. You could build a pretty fun Wolves deck in Modern, though.

Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves in Standard

While Wolf Tribal isn’t really a deck in Standard right now, Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves is generically powerful enough to see play. He wouldn’t need too much support to become a “build-around-me” card. While he’s not as splash-able as former Standable staple Thragtusk was, it seems to me that he could fill a similar role in Standard. He offers similar card advantage (perhaps even better if your Wolf wins a fight) and gives you added tempo with the 3 life. If Wolves become more of a theme in future Standard sets, then Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves will become a very relevant card.

Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves in EDH / Commander

As a Commander, Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves will have many fans. It may not be the most competitive deck, but it can create enough Wolf tokens - and now gain enough life - to be formidable. This Tolsimir should also find his way into some builds of Trostani, Selesyna’s Voice and Rhys the Redeemed decks. He’ll also likely see play alongside his previous incarnation, Tolsimir Wolfblood, since the two complement one another. Because the Wolfblood can continue to tap to create additional tokens, Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves’ ability becomes even more important.

If you’re a fan of Wolves and Werewolves, Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves is a card for you. But, he was also designed to be Standard-playable, as well. How would you play Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves?

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here.

Vraska, Swarm's Eminence - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/3/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence is an uncommon green and black planeswalker card from War of the Spark. This four-mana planeswalker has a hybrid mana cost, meaning you can pay either green or black mana to cast her. This Vraska planeswalker shares Standard with another four-mana Vraska card from Ravnica Allegiance: Vraska, Golgari Queen. So, where does this Vraska fit in?

Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence Deathtouch Tribal

Like all of the uncommon War of the Spark planeswalkers, Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence has two abilities, one static ability and one loyalty ability. Her static ability is rather interesting: “Whenever a creature you control with deathtouch deals damage to a player or planeswalker, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.” There’s only a few good creatures with deathtouch currently in Standard. But, there are some possibilities.

Death Baron, for example, gives other Skeletons and Zombies you control deathtouch. So, Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence could work in a Zombie tribal deck. Dire Fleet Poisoner can give Pirates you control Deathtouch. Other playable creatures with deathtouch include Dire Fleet Ravager, Isareth the Awakener, Pestilent Spirit, and Tetzimoc, Primal Death. There’s also the split instant card Status / Statue which would be fairly playable in a deck with Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence.

Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence Makes Planeswalker Assassin Tokens!

The particularly fun aspect of Vraska, Swam’s Eminence is the tokens that she creates. For minus-two loyalty, she creates a 1/1 black Assassin creature token with deathtouch. Those tokens also have the ability that whenever they deal damage to a planeswalker, destroy that planeswalker. Those tokens have perfect synergy with Swarm’s Eminence’s other ability, so they can get bigger quickly.

Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence in EDH / Commander

Already, many Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons Snake Tribal Commander players are excited about adding Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence to their decks. Damia, Sage of Stone Deathtouch Tribal EDH decks can make use of Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence, too. While this Vraska planeswalker does need to fill a particular niche in EDH, she will find more than a few homes in Commander decks.

Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence in Standard

At the very least, Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence is Standard-playable as a sideboard card against planeswalker-heavy strategies. Because of her hybrid mana cost, she can be played in decks that feature either green or black mana, and not just both. Red/black (Rakdos) and Blue/black (Dimir) decks can play her, as well as Red/Green (Gruul) and White/Green (Selesnya) decks. She’s a bit too niche for Modern and other Eternal competitive formats.

Being only an uncommon, Magic the Gathering players are happy to add a playset of this Vraska planeswalker to their collections. While Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence may not be a super important card outside of a Planeswalker-heavy Standard metagame, she is a well-designed and flavorful planeswalker just like all those we have seen in War of the Spark.

How will you play Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence?

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/3/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

When some Magic the Gathering players first saw Liliana, Dreadhorde General, they saw a 6-mana planeswalker that may not have much of an impact in Standard. However, this Liliana planeswalker card should not be overlooked. Not only does she have three loyalty abilities, but a static ability, as well. Six-mana planeswalkers have made an impact in Standard - and even Modern - before such as Elspeth, Sun’s Champion and Vraska, Relic Seeker. So, let’s see how this Liliana planeswalker from War of the Spark is stronger than she appears on the surface.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General Draws Cards

The first ability on Liliana, Dreadhorde General is a static ability which draws you a card whenever a creature dies. This ability is extremely important. Whether that creature is a token or nontoken does not matter. So, the incremental advantage of this Liliana planeswalker is fairly obvious right away.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General Makes Zombie Tokens

Liliana’s first loyalty ability is a plus-one to create a 2/2 Zombie creature token. That means she immediately can bring a creature into play to protect herself. As Liliana, Dreadhorde General gives you 6 loyalty counters to start, ticking right up to 7 is pretty good. Plus, the tokens created by this ability make her second loyalty ability even better.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General Forces Two Sacrifices

Liliana’s second loyalty ability is minus-4 loyalty to force each player to sacrifice two creatures. This is the same as the Barter in Blood card ability, which was a four-mana sorcery that saw play back in its day. While this ordinarily would be a symmetrical effect, because Liliana draws you a card for each of your creatures that dies, you will get to draw two cards (unless you only have one or no creatures to sacrifice). Drawing two cards is always good for you. Forcing your opponent to lose their own creatures is even better.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General Makes a One-Sided Cataclysm

Years ago in Exodus, there was a boardwipe called Cataclysm. This card was very powerful in control decks. All players would choose an artifact, an enchantment, a creature, and a land he or she controlled and sacrifice all the rest. Because this card was printed before the planeswalker card type was created, players would also have to sacrifice any planeswalkers.

But, Liliana, Dreadhorde General’s “ultimate” minus-9 loyalty ability does not affect you at all. It forces all opponents to choose one of each permanent they control (including planeswalkers) and sacrifice all the rest. This is an extremely crippling ability, especially considering that you do not have to lose anything - except potentially Liliana herself being sacrificed after spending 9 loyalty counters.

Because Liliana, Dreadhorde General begins with 6 loyalty counters, this ultimate ability is not impossible to pull off in a typical game. While she doesn’t win the game all by herself, this Liliana planeswalker can essentially give you such an absurd amount of card advantage with her ultimate loyalty ability that it would be extremely hard not to win.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General in EDH / Commander

Being a six-mana planeswalker in EDH does not matter when it comes to playability. In fact, many Commander decks will take advantage of Liliana, Dreadhorde General simply for her ability to draw cards. Sacrifice themes are huge in EDH, especially in mono-black and black/green, decks that are happy to make a home for Liliana, Dreadhorde General. It all comes down to how individual deck builders decide to fit her in that will determine just how popular she becomes in the EDH format.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General in Standard

Control decks should find a home for Liliana, Dreadhorde General at least as a one-of. While she’s not quite that great against decks that go wide with their creatures, she is very good against decks that don’t play many creatures. Liliana coming down late is fine if you are forcing your opponent to sacrifice their best creatures. Dreadhorde General’s ultimate is so strong that it makes sense for her to be a six-mana planeswalker. Bringing your opponent down to a single land pretty much spells the end for a game. So, there will be Standard decks that can use Liliana, Dreadhorde General.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General is probably too slow of a planeswalker for Modern and other Eternal formats outside of Commander. But, she is a very strong mid-to-late game planeswalker that continues the tradition of playable Liliana planeswalkers. Where do you think Liliana, Dreadhorde General will see play?

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Teferi, Time Raveler - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/2/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Many Magic the Gathering players are probably thinking, wait, do we really need another Teferi planeswalker in Standard after the dominance of Teferi, Hero of Dominaria? The answer is a resounding yes: Teferi, Time Raveler is a solid rare three-mana planeswalker who will not only help decks in the fight against control decks, but even be a complement to the dominant five-mana Teferi planeswalker.

Teferi, Time Raveler Stops Control Decks in Their Tracks!

The first obvious thing about Teferi, Time Raveler is his static abilities: Each opponent can only cast spells whenever they could cast a sorcery. This turns off counter-magic as well as any cards that may have flash. (It’s also actually a neat counter against Emergence Zone, the nonbasic land that gives spells you control flash until end of turn.) Ironically, his first loyalty ability is +1 loyalty to give your own sorcery spells flash until your next turn. Isn’t that nice?

Teferi, Time Raveler Turns Back Time?

Not only does Teferi, Time Raveler have the ability to speed up your own sorcery spells and slow down your opponent’s instants, but he has a bounce ability at all. While it costs 3 loyalty counters (and Time Raveler only starts with 4 loyalty), this ability can hit an artifact, creature, or enchantment, returning it to its owner’s hand. You also draw a card. The neat thing about this ability is not only can it be used on an opponent’s card, but your own cards, as well. In most cases, you’re probably targeting your opponent’s card, but having the option is great.

Where Does Teferi, Time Raveler Fit in Standard?

Some players have suggested that Teferi, Time Raveler and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria could exist in the same deck. That’s because Teferi, Time Raveler is only a three-drop. It’s most likely that he will be a sideboard card to bring in against control mirrors. However, there are some cards in Standard Esper Control that would be nice to play at instant speed, such as Cry of the Carnarium and Thought Erasure. The minus three ability is also good because of the sheer tempo it allows you to gain.

Does Teferi, Time Raveler Fit in Modern?

Since Teferi, Hero of Dominaria sees play in Modern, is it possible that the three-mana Time Raveler will find his way into Modern, too? It’s possible Teferi, Time Raveler could fit into Azorius Control purely as a sideboard option against other Azorius and Jeskai control decks. The only sorceries he would be able to flash in with Azorius Control are Timely Reinforcements and Terminus. An instant speed Terminus is great - although you can already do that as a Miracle. I can see it being tried out, though. Also, his minus three can let you get back your Detention Sphere - especially if you used it to eliminate opposing tokens, while also drawing a card. He’s certainly playable in the format, but we will see if people actually play him or not.

Teferi, Time Raveler in Legacy?

It’s tough for a lot of Modern cards to break into Legacy, but Teferi, Time Raveler’s ability to shut off your opponent’s instants is pretty relevant in the format. After all, who doesn’t want to shut down Force of Will? He’s also only three mana. The deck I can see using him the most is Azorius Stoneblade. After all, Council’s Judgment seems pretty mean to cast at instant speed.. Miracles could also make use of his abilities, as well.

Teferi, Time Raveler in EDH / Commander

Teferi, Time Raveler is actually plenty good in EDH for a couple of reasons. First off, his minus ability can bounce Commanders, which isn’t too shabby. Also, shutting off flash against certain decks is a powerful move. In Commander, being able to have your sorceries at instant speed is even more relevant than in 60-card formats, especially in multiplayer. Turning all of your boardwipes into instants is always good in Commander. Pretty much every control deck that plays white and blue will consider him.

While Teferi, Time Raveler isn’t nearly as powerful as Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, he doesn’t need to be. As a rare planeswalker, he is plenty powerful. Without a doubt he will be played in Standard and EDH, and possibly in Modern and even Legacy!

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

The Wanderer - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/2/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

As much as I, and many others, would like The Wanderer to be Elspeth Tirel returned, I’m not so sure that she is. In any case, whoever The Wanderer truly is doesn’t matter in contemplating the very solid planeswalker card that she is. Her static ability is excellent: preventing all noncombat damage that would be dealt to you and other permanents you control. Her minus ability, which costs only 2 loyalty counters - exiles a target creature with power 4 or greater. So, The Wanderer is a four mana planeswalker at uncommon that can easily exile two big creatures and prevent burn damage to both yourself and your creatures and other planeswalkers. That’s extremely good.

But, Isn’t The Wanderer Elspeth Returned From the Dead? PLEASE!?

While I truly doubt that The Wanderer is Elspeth, being that she is my favorite all-time planeswalker, it would be cool to find that out. Still, I’m happy with The Wanderer being secretive for now. It is true that the loyalty ability is similar as that of Elspeth, Sun’s Champion - who destroys all creatures with power 4 or greater. If that’s a hint, that’s cool. But, I’m more interested in how The Wanderer will see play.

Is The Wanderer Going to be a Standard Sideboard Staple?

At the very least, The Wanderer will prove to be a thorn in the side for Burn players. As Red Deck Wins seems an omnipresent force in Standard (and Modern for that matter), The Wanderer does fill a nice niche. I feel like four mana may be too much for Modern. Still, buying potentially a turn or two against Burn is nothing to sneeze at. The added bonus of exiling a bigger creature shouldn’t be ignored, either.

The Wanderer in EDH / Commander

One place that the White planeswalker quickly found a home was in EDH. The deck that adopted her the most in the early going was Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves. While the synergy isn't immediately obvious, The Wanderer's static ability is actually extremely important, because the "fight" mechanic is considered noncombat damage. That means when Tolsimir's second ability activates, your creature takes no damage in the fight... totally fair, right? Also, the loyalty ability does deal with creatures power 4 or more, which is great for a commander that creates a 3/3 token. These two are turning into really great friends.

While many players are a bit unhappy about planeswalkers being printed now at uncommon for War of the Spark, I think that the Wizards of the Coast design team did fine with these. The Wanderer is a fine example of a card that does a couple of very useful things while also being a planeswalker. This is a good little planeswalker who should find plenty of homes throughout Magic.

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/2/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is the first Jace Planeswalker at rare since the OG Jace Beleren. While he only has two loyalty abilities, his static ability is that of Laboratory Maniac. Yes, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries makes self-mill a deck in Standard. Let's delve into this very straightforward but powerful Jace Planeswalker from War of the Spark.

The Wielder of Mysteries is the Laboratory Maniac Jace Planeswalker

For those who are unfamiliar with Laboratory Maniac, he is a creature from Innistrad that allows you to win the game if there are no cards left in your library. The reason that this is so funny is because typically the strategy of a mill deck is to force your opponent to deck out. In most cases, decking out is a way to lose the game. But with Laboratory Maniac of this new Jace in play, you actually win the game instead.

Furthering his own goal are both of his loyalty abilities. His plus one ability is basically Thought Scour, which mills a player for two cards and draws you a card. His ultimate ability costs eight loyalty and draws seven cards. If you don't have seven cards left, you instead win the game. The ability has the added wording of winning the game since it's likely you will have to sacrifice Jace in order to use the ability. That would mean his ability would no longer be in play, so the extra wording guarantees you will still win the game anyway.

Also, Jace, Wielder of Memories is only a four mana Planeswalker that comes into play with four loyalty counters. That three of the four mana needed to cast him have to be blue does make him a bit tricky to cast on turn four. So, a deck that revolves around Jace, Wielder of Memories may need to be mono blue, at least in Standard, to be able to cast the key Planeswalker consistently.

A Persistent Petitioners Self-Mill Deck is Now Possible on Standard and Beyond

An already popular casual mill deck includes an interesting card called Persistent Petitioners from Ravnica Allegiance. This common on its own isn't incredibly powerful, but you can play as many copies as you want in a deck. He's a 1 / 3 Advisor for two mana (1U) with the ability to pay 1 colorless Mana and a tap to mill the top card of target player's library. The second ability is the more powerful. You can tap four untapped Advisors to mill 12 cards of target player's library. This is where the true power of this card comes into play.

Jace, Wielder of Memories makes a strategy revolving around the Petitioners a lot more viable. Players have already built Persistent Petitioners mill decks before, including a Commander version with Grand Arbiter Augustin IV as the Commander. Now, since, Jace Wielder of Memories and Persistent Petitioners share the same Standard format, the deck is now possible to build somewhat effectively in Standard.

Jace, Wielder of Memories in EDH / Commander

Pretty much any EDH deck that played Laboratory Maniac before or any sort of mill strategy will want to play Jace, Wielder of Memories. He's also just sort of generically good for his Thought Scour and draw 7 cards abilities. Jace, Memory Adept may still be the better Planeswalker for typical Mill decks, but you could easily play both. They just can't be in play at the same time.

Jace, Wielder of Memories in Modern Mill Decks

Like in EDH, Jace, Memory Adept is the premier mill card in Modern Mill decks. It's sort of a fringe deck strategy in the format, but Jace, Wielder of Memories certainly is a potential new include in some builds. Being that Wielder of Memories has a somewhat prohibitive triple blue cost doesn't matter quite as much in Modern even in a blue/black deck. It's possible he may be a one of in some builds, even mill decks that aren't meant to be self-mill, as an alternate win condition in games that go long.

Cards that serve as win conditions in and of themselves tend to be very good in Magic the Gathering. While not all “oops, I win” cards are particularly consistent, Jace, Wielder of Memories is good enough to be a useful cog in a control deck and the focal point of his own deck strategy. This Jace Planeswalker should be a lot of fun to play with, no doubt.

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Emergence Zone - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/1/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Emergence Zone is an uncommon nonbasic land from Magic the Gathering's War of the Spark. This colorless land is in the vein of Alchemist’s Refuge and Winding Canyons. Not only does it provide one colorless mana by tapping it, but it also has a sacrifice ability for a single mana to give all spells you cast flash until end of turn.That means everything in your hand can be played at instant speed. While Alchemist’s Refuge and Winding Canyons didn’t require you sacrifice them, there are a few things about Emergence Zone that make it a particularly fascinating card across many different competitive Magic the Gathering formats.

While needing to sacrifice Emergence Zone does present a drawback, the ability only costs a single colorless mana for any type of spell you cast. Because you are sacrificing a land, though, sacrificing Emergence Zone essentially costs you two mana and not just one. It’s a fair price for the ability, though, and because you can play it in any deck, Emergence Zone can fit into many different deck strategies.

It has already been suggested that Emergence Zone will see a lot of play in decks that can retrieve it or recur it from the graveyard. Without a doubt, Emergence Zone becomes a lot more powerful with something like Crucible of Worlds in play (which actually is in Standard at the time of War of the Spark’s release).Being able to play it from the graveyard is a crazy powerful play, as it doesn’t even come into play tapped.

Emergence Zone in EDH / Commander

The most obvious place for Emergence Zone to see play is in EDH, as many Commanders already enjoy having access to flash through lands like Alchemist’s Refuge and Winding Canyons. Alchemist’s Refuge, though, requires Blue and Green mana to activate. While the Refuge does not require the sacrifice, it can only be played in decks with Blue and Green mana. Winding Canyons only requires two colorless mana to activate its ability, but only gives flash to creature spells.

Emergence Zone in Modern Colorless Eldrazi

There has already been speculation that Emergence Zone may be played in some Eldrazi decks in Modern. It provides the required colorless mana for some of the Colorless Eldrazi deck’s best creatures like Matter Reshaper, Thought-Knot Seer, Reality Smasher, and Endbringer. But, it also gives you the ability to flash in your creatures, something that is relevant with Eldrazi Mimic already in play. The Mimic can copy the power and toughness of any colorless creature that enters the battlefield on your side. That makes for a neat combat trick. Flash is also relevant for flashing in the deck’s other spells like Basilisk Collar. Ghostfire Blade, and Ratchet Bomb. It’s particularly cute with Ratchet Bomb, because Flash allows you to tick it up with an additional charge counter.

Emergence Zone in Standard

Probably the most interesting use for Emergence Zone in the Standard format it enters is a deck heavy on planeswalkers. Sure, planeswalkers have been played at instant speed in EDH before thanks to a wide variety of Flash enablers like Alchemist’s Refuge, Leyline of Anticipation, and Vedalken Orrery. But, with War of the Spark planeswalkers having static abilities besides just loyalty abilities, suddenly giving them the ability to have flash becomes a lot more important. It could be argued that Emergence Zone is going to be a key card in some sort of Planeswalker Control deck. We shall see how this land’s use develops as War of the Spark is released.

How would you use Emergence Zone?

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Tibalt, Rakish Instigator - A Magic the Gathering War of the Spark Card Review

4/1/2019

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

As soon as it was announced that War of the Spark would contain 36 planeswalker cards, everyone knew that the set would feature the first uncommon planeswalkers in Magic the Gathering. Many players assumed that Tibalt, one of the weakest planeswalkers in the game, would be one of those uncommon planeswalkers. As it turns out, Tibalt, Rakish Instigator is indeed an uncommon planeswalker. Plus, as some players hoped, this Tibalt planeswalker is actually playable.

The early excitement around this new Tibalt planeswalker caused TCGPlayer to jokingly call the new set “War of the Tibalt” on April Fool’s Day. It seems that the hype is justified. Being an uncommon planeswalker, Tibalt has a regular static ability as well as a single loyalty ability.

What Does Tibalt, Rakish Instigator Do?

This Tibalt planeswalker starts with 5 loyalty, which is a decent number for a 3 mana planeswalker. His static ability is that your opponents can’t gain life. This ability is actually a powerful one, especially in a Red deck. Some players have already suggested him as a sideboard card for this ability alone.

Tibalt, Rakish Instigator also has a pretty decent loyalty ability, as well: at the cost of two loyalty counters, you put a 1/1 Devil creature token into play. That Devil token has an ability that when it dies, it deals 1 damage to any target. With the 5 loyalty that Tibalt, Rakish Instigator starts with in play, that means he can create 2 tokens and still stay on the board.

How Good Are Tibalt, Rakish Inbstigator's Abilities?

These Devil tokens are pretty much an exact match to a common from Ravnica Allegiance called Footlight Fiend. They cost either a single Black or single Red mana to cast, and have seen Standard play in the occasional Mardu Aristocrats deck. For 3 mana, you’re essentially able to create two of these Devils and are left with essentially an enchantment that prevents your opponent from gaining life.

As some players have already commented, preventing lifegain for your opponent is an ability that is on Rampaging Ferocidon, a card that was banned from Standard for being too powerful. While Ferocidon was powerful for other reasons, that’s a very relevant ability and is going to be one that hurts some decks. If for nothing else, Tibalt is good for that and creating two bodies that do something useful. Keep in mind that those tokens can deal that 1 damage to a planeswalker when they die, something that is more relevant than ever.

Tibalt, Rakish Instigator is already a card people are looking forward to playing. Whether it’s in Burn sideboards, or even works its way into main decks, this planeswalker is sure to see play. Plus, being an uncommon, it will be extremely easy to pull your playset from War of the Spark. An uncommon planeswalker with a decent metagame relevant ability that can also protect himself with tokens is a good card. While I wouldn’t dare pre-order him - he was starting out around $2 to $3 for an uncommon - he’s definitely worth picking up as copies become readily available.

Read more War of the Spark card reviews here!

Adeliz, the Cinder Wind - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

12/22/2018

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

“(Insert name of uncommon legend creature here) is good” could easily be a theme in the Dominaria set. But, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind is actually quite good. Even as an uncommon, Adeliz quickly found herself on buylists for bulk rare price or even slightly higher. She also has had a positive demand curve.

Adeliz, the Cinder Wind is a blue/red Wizard that screams Wizard tribal. A 2/2 with flying and haste is always good for three mana. Also, her ability to pump all Wizards you control whenever you can an instant or sorcery spell - even herself - works on either offense or defense.

Unsurprisingly, Adeliz has proven good enough to be part of Standard Wizards Aggro at three copies. Even as a Legendary Creature that you can only control one copy of at a time, Adeliz pumps your whole team, so having extra copies in hand isn’t really a problem. You’ll want extra copies of her to drop in case they deal with your first Adeliz.

Adeliz, the Cinder Wind is even good enough that she’s appeared in Modern Izzet Wizards at two copies. There are enough one drop spells that can quickly activate her ability, such as Lightning Bolt and Serum Visions. Even in a fast format like Modern, she makes Wizards a viable aggro deck She’s even popped up in an occasional Vintage Grixis Control deck as a quick source of hasty damage in the air.

With how expansive Wizards are as a tribe in Magic, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Adeliz, the Cinder Wind is also good in EDH. While Adeliz, the Cinder Wind Commander decks aren’t all that popular just yet, they gained some powerful allies in Guilds of Ravnica with Niv-Mizzet, Parun and Murmuring Mystic. She’s definitely one to watch as a Wizard Tribal Commander.

Really, Adeliz is way too good a creature to be uncommon. She's a solid card for any Magic collection, but also a great card for the Magic card investor binder. Foil copies of Adeliz floored at about $2, so if you happen across them, they’re worth grabbing. The non foil doesn’t have a super high ceiling, but he’s 60-card Constructed playable. Adeliz is really fun to build around and a home run card for Magic players both new and old.

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Quasiduplicate - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

12/4/2018

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Quasiduplicate is a sorcery spell from Magic the Gathering’s Guilds of Ravnica set. This three-mana spell not only can clone one of your creatures, but it also has Jump-start. A mechanic new to Guilds of Ravnica, Jump-start allows you to cast a spell from the graveyard by paying its mana cost plus discarding a card.

Because of its Jump-start ability, Quasiduplicate is very similar to an older instant spell from Innistrad called Cackling Counterpart. That card was better in that you could play it at instant speed and was still a three-mana spell. It also had flashback for 5UU (seven mana). While it never saw much competitive Standard play, Cackling Counterpart did find its way into a few Delver decks.

What makes Quasiduplicate better than Cackling Counterpart is that it essentially can use flashback for only three mana. You do have to discard a card, but it could be a card you don’t even need, like an extra land. Seven mana was just too much for a commitment for a clone in Standard or other competitive formats. In this way, Quasiduplicate is better, although it can only be cast at sorcery speed.

What is the best deck for Quasiduplicate in Standard?

Dimir Quasiduplicate is a deck that has gone undefeated in Guilds of Ravnica standard on Magic Online. It features four copies of Quasiduplicate, plus three of the other best clone in Standard with Hostage Taker. Your primary targets for your Quasiduplicate and Hostage Takers are Ravenous Chupacabra, Doom Whisperer, and Dream Eater.

The Chupacabra helps you clear your opponent’s board, and being able to copy that ability for three mana is really solid. Copying Doom Whisperer gets you a 6/6 trampling flyer for three mana. Dream Eater lets you surveil 4, while also bouncing an opponent’s nonland permanent, and the copy does, too. Getting to throw dead cards from your top 4 in the graveyard and rearrange the order of the rest on top of your deck is already good - doing that plus bouncing something for three mana is absurd.

Quasiduplicate has also been tried out in Izzet Drakes, in order to copy one of your Enigma Drake or Crackling Drake. It’s a decent concept - copying your Crackling Drake draws you a card as well asa powerful attacker. However, this is a case where Quasiduplicate being an instant would make it a lot more releveant in that deck. It’s a bit superfluous in that deck.

Is Quasiduplicate an Infinite Combo With Beamsplitter Mage?

Many Magic the Gathering players speculated that Quasiduplicate might be a great spell to play alongside with Beampslitter Mage. While the Mage can copy spells, it does not go inifinite with Quasiduplicate. That’s because even if you copy the Beamsplitter Mage, its ability to copy a spell only works on spells being cast, not being copied. Still, can certainly work in the same deck. Still, while a competitive deck utilizing those two at its core is still to be built, but there are some brewing possibilities with Beamsplitter Mage and Quasiduplicate in the same deck.

While Quasiduplicate can’t go infinite with Beamsplitter Mage, it’s a plenty useful spell. There are plenty of creatures with strong enter the battlefield effects that can benefit you with Quasiduplicate making a token copy. While it hasn’t yet found its way into Modern, it’s not impossible to see it making some sort of impact in the right deck.

Also, while Quasiduplicate certainly isn’t a chase card from Guilds of Ravnica, it is a card to watch. It’s been a top selling card from the set before and Quasiduplicate is not a card to overlook even with its low price.

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Foil - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Ultimate Masters Card Review

11/25/2018

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Foil is what you may call a “poor man’s” Force of Will. Originally printed in Magic the Gathering’s Prophecy set, Foil has been played in EDH for quite some time. It was reprinted with the same artwork with a modern border in Duel Decks: Elspeth VS Tezzeret - to this day probably my favorite of the Duel Decks and not just because of Elspeth, Knight-Errant.

Foil also was selected for reprint in Ultimate Masters in 2018. Not only did it gain new artwork and the chance to get a far less expensive copy of Foil in foil (that’s fun to say), but Foil also gets a rarity downshift. Always printed at uncommon before, Foil has been shifted to common rarity for Ultimate Masters.

Why is Foil at Common a Big Deal? Foil in Pauper

Rarity downshifts are common in Masters reprint sets. But Foil, in particular, is a card that’s primed to impact the Pauper format, a format that uses only cards printed at common. Originally a massively popular format on Magic the Gathering: Online, Pauper is now extremely popular and well supported by local game stores in Paper Magic.

What makes Foil so good? If you look at Foil, it doesn’t really look like a tremendously competitive card. It’s a four mana Counterspell essentially. In Pauper, you already have good old Counterspell, which is only two mana. But, Foil has an alternate casting cost. You don’t have to pay any mana if you discard an Island and another card from your hand.

This alternate casting cost makes Foil very similar to the Legacy staple, Force of Will. That counterspell costs five mana, but if you exile a Blue card from your hand and pay 2 life, you can cast it for free. While that’s definitely a minus one as far as card advantage is concerned, you’re typically going to be countering something significant when you cast it.

While Foil is essentially a minus two in card advantage if you cast it for free, four mana to counter a spell isn’t really that terrible, especially in the later game. Also, pitching an Island and any card from your hand is nowhere as bad as exiling a card that has to be Blue (an Island doesn’t count in that case). Because the cards go to the graveyard, they can be brought back somehow later.

Is Foil Going to See Competitive Pauper Play?

While there are many counterspells in Pauper, having essentially a common version of Force of Will is better than it looks on paper. Also keep in mind that cards with the Madness mechanic, which gives cards an alternate casting cost when they’re discarded, is present in Pauper.

But, you don’t need to have a deck that revolves around Madness for Foil to be good. Here’s an Izzet Blitz Pauper deck that features two copies of Foil.

Lands (17)
3 Evolving Wilds
9 Island
5 Mountain

Spells (31)
3 Apostle's Blessing
1 Brainstorm
1 Daze
1 Distortion Strike
2 Foil
4 Gitaxian Probe
2 Gush
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mutagenic Growth
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
3 Temur Battle Rage

Creatures (12)
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Nivix Cyclops

Sideboard (15)
2 Dispel
2 Electrickery
2 Gorilla Shaman
2 Hydroblast
3 Pyroblast
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Stormbound Geist

The entire point of an Izzet Blitz Pauper deck is to build up your Kiln Fiend and Nivix Cyclops to deal massive amounts of damage. Foil helps get you there by giving you a “free” counterspell. While discarding an Island and another card can be a steep cost, it’s not a steep cost if you’re going to win the game because of what you counter.

There’s also this interesting U/B Reanimator Control Pauper deck that runs a full four copies of Foil in it.

Lands (14)
8 Island
2 Swamp
3 Evolving Wilds
1 Ash Barrens

Spells (34)
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
3 Dragon Wings
4 Duress
4 Exhume
4 Foil
4 Lotus Petal
2 Muddle the Mixture
4 Preordain
1 Vampiric Link

Creatures (12)
4 Striped Riverwinder
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Gurmag Angler

In a deck like this one, you don’t care if you’re discarding a card for Foil. You want Striper Riverwinder or Gurmag Angler in the graveyard anyway to Exhume. Foil is actually a better card in this particular kind of deck than Force of Will, since you’d have to put one of your Striper Riverwinders or other Blue cards in exile instead of in the grave. You can also discard Gurmag Angler, too, or anything else for that matter.

Foil in EDH / Commander

While not exactly a staple in the EDH format, Foil is a useful counterspell that sees a fair amount of play in several Commander decks. Talrand, Sky Summoner, Azami, Lady of Scrolls, and Baral, Chief of Compliance are far and away the most common Commanders that utilize Foil as part of their countermagic suite. You will have plenty of Islands to pitch in these sorts of decks.

While Foil had a price over $1 before its reprinting, that was mainly due to its relative rarity being printed in an older set. Duel Deck copies aren’t all that plentiful. But, being reprinted at common makes it far more accessible, although the overall demand from the Pauper community will likely keep this one of the more valuable commons in Ultimate Masters. Also, you won’t have to pay $30 for a foil copy of Foil anymore, which is a plus.

How would you play Foil in your deck?

Why the Destiny Hero Disk Commander Errata? - A Yu-Gi-Oh Card Review

11/12/2018

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Once one of the most popular decks in Yu-Gi-Oh, Destiny Heroes returned to modern Yu-Gi-Oh in 2018 with the Legendary Hero Decks. Because it was included in the decks, it was decided to return Destiny Hero - Disk Commander from the Banned and Restricted List to Unlimited status. This means you can now play three copies of one of the most powerful Destiny Hero cards of all time in your deck… But, wait, there’s an errata?

That’s right. There was no way that a monster that could draw you two cards every time it returns from the graveyard to the battlefield could be brought back into play without some serious limitation on its effect. So, Konami continues their rather frustrating trend of nerfing old cards just to make them legitimate cards that can be played in tournament decks without severely warping the competitive game.

The “new” Destiny Hero - Disk Commander after errata is extremely different than the original version. This little Level 1 Warrior monster originally read like this:

“When this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, draw 2 cards.”

Wow, that sounds pretty busted… It was. There’s a reason why Destiny Hero decks dominated Yu-GI-Oh for a long time. That is some nuts card advantage. So, how can they make it fair enough for it to return from the banned list?

Here is the Disk Commander Errata:

“Cannot be Special Summoned from the GY the turn this card was sent to the GY. If this card is Special Summoned from the GY: You can draw 2 cards. You can only use this effect of "Destiny HERO - Disk Commander" once per Duel.”

Wow, that’s a lot of deck. Let’s break this down.

Cannot be Special Summoned from the GY the turn this card was sent to the GY.

OK, this bit is understandable. This makes the effect a bit more fair, right? You can draw 2 cards if you Monster Reborn this guy, but you can’t do it until next turn, OK?

If this card is Special Summoned from the GY: You can draw 2 cards.

That sounds awfully familiar. So, if that’s all, that’s not too bad of an errata. Let’s all run three copies of Disk Commander!

Oh, wait, there’s more…

You can only use this effect of “Destiny HERO - DIsk Commander” once per Duel.

Ick. You mean we can only draw two cards ONCE? Hmm… well, that makes playing three copies rather pointless, doesn’t it?

You can see why this errata was made. It’s a double-whammy, but there are many reasons why this is necessary. First of all, it’s easier to Special Summon monsters from the GY more often than ever. Drawing two cards is still obviously quite good, and being a Level 1, there are plenty of reasons to want to play this card just as material to summon a Synchro, XYZ, or Link monster. But if its effect is only good once per turn, is it still worth playing?

I say yes. If you are playing a dedicated Destiny Hero deck, it’s totally worth playing one copy of Disk Commander, pitching it to Destiny Draw to draw two cards. Then, there are a myriad of ways to take advantage of him being there and Special Summoning him. Also, Elemental Hero Stratos was returned to one copy per deck in September of 2018, so he’s an obvious monster to choose with Stratos’ ability.

Destiny Hero - Disk Commander is still worth playing even with this double-edged errata craziness. There is pretty much zero reason to play more than one copy in my opinion. I hate the errata, but I understand the reasoning for adding both of those restrictions on his effect.

What do you think of the Destiny Hero - Disk Commander errata?

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Path of Bravery - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

8/21/2018

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

The Magic 2014 Core Set is definitely an enchantment-happy set. Of the many interesting Enchantments, Path of Bravery is definitely a good card. It would later be reprinted in Iconic Masters. As long as you have more life than you started with (or even the same number you started with, in fact), all of your creatures gain +1/+1. Then, whenever your creatures attack, you gain life equal to the number of creatures that you have attacking. It can be one or a thousand. In any case, this life-gain can be quite substantial

The starting life total bit is clearly intended to make it not break Commander - where you start at 40 life in a multi-player setting) In Constructed, White Weenie was needing a card like Path of Bravery for awhile. The first half of this card already makes this card a variant of Honor of the Pure, but one that doesn’t restrict itself to white creatures. But the second half of this card is what makes it so powerful. Having lots of little creatures consistently gaining you life not only keeps you in the game, but it makes it pretty much impossible for burn decks to race you.

The best part of Path of Bravery is that it costs 2 colorless and a White mana. This means that it’s easy to splash in green-white, red-white, or blue-white creature-based decks. With Soulmender and Fiendslayer Paladin already a part of Magic 2014, plus creatures with Extort from Gatecrash, life-gain was suddenly looking like a valid mechanic again!

Despite this being a darn good card, Path of Bravery saw fairly limited play in Standard decks. You’d find three copies of Path of Bravery in the occasional White Weenie deck. It was also a pretty strong card in Limited, especially at Grand Prix Prague 2013.

The best deck with Path of Bravery was Martyr Life in Modern, a variant of Martyr Proc. Like the older Soul Sisters decks before it, this deck relied on Soul Warden, Soul’s Attendant, and Spectral Procession to flood the board with a bunch of creatures. It was called Martyr Life due to playing Martyr of Sands, which could gain you a ton of life, plus the one copy of Path of Bravery in the main deck and one copy of Chalice of Life in the sideboard. This was actually a fairly successful deck from 2013 well into 2014.

Since late 2014, Path of Bravery pretty much disappeared from competitive play, but not from play entirely. It still sees a fair amount of play in Commander across a wide variety of decks, including Darien, King of Kjeldor, Karlov of the Ghost Council, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, and other decks with either a weenie creature or lifegain theme. While Path of Bravery isn’t quite as good in Commander due to having to stay over 40 life, it’s still a solid Enchantment.

Could Path of Bravery re-emerge in Modern someday? It’s certainly possible. As a card that did have its day in the competitive spotlight, you never know.

Flash Knight – A Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V Card Review

8/17/2018

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

While Flash Knight may simply be a rare card from Yu-Gi-Oh’s Duelist Alliance expansion set, this Pendulum Monster would prove himself to be rather useful. He’s a Level 4 Light-Attribute Normal Monster with 1800 ATK and 600 DEF, easily search-able with Reinforcement of the Army. The most important part about the Flash Knight is the fact that he has a Pendulum Scale of 7. Combined with a creature like Dragon Horn Hunter in your opposite Pendulum Zone, you then have the ability to summon Level 4 to Level 6 monsters with ease at the beginning of each of your turns.

Was Flash Knight going to be a good option for a deck based around Pendulum Summoning high-level Normal Monsters? While the range is a bit limited, topping out at Level 6 as previously mentioned, there are plenty of strong Normal Monsters that fall in between those levels. In fact, the Knight did see some competitive play, including some Regional Top 8 Draco Performapals decks like this one.

For only a mere rare, the Flash Knight actually proved himself to be a fairly useful monster. He was useful enough just as a scale, and having 1800 ATK isn't too shabby, either! As one of the first ever Pendulum monsters, the Knight held his own for awhile before being outclassed by flashier, badder Pendulum monsters. But let us never forget the exploits of this brave Level 4 Knight!